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UPSC Civil Services GK update – Sri Lanka to pass its RTI law (24th April, 2015)

UPSC

Dear Readers,

Current affairs forms an important component of several competitive exams such as the UPSC Civil Services Examination, SSC CGL, Bank PO & PSU entrance tests, etc. Therefore, understanding terms/concepts/events that are in the news is critical for aspirants. We at PaGaLGuY bring you this series of articles in which we shall explain some of these important concepts/events for you.

In this article we are discussing Sri Lanka’s newly proposed RTI law. Sri Lanka has decided introduce a Right to Information law through their 19th constitutional amendment bill. The Sirisena government has introduced many political reforms to bring transparency in the administration, this being the latest.

     This new legislation is the part of the Sri Lankan government’s ‘100 days programme’. This new legislation will be known as Right to Know Information. It has no power on provincial level and will be enacted on national level only. It has been said to be inspired by India that passed its Right to information act in 2005.

  There are few exemptions to the act according to the draft – “No restrictions shall be placed on the right declared and recognised by Article 14A, other than such restrictions prescribed by law, as are necessary in a democratic society in the interests of national security, territorial integrity or public safety”. 

     The hope is to ease up flow of information and allow its access to all. This will eventually help in strengthening the Sri Lankan democracy.  

Electoral Reforms

The Sri Lankan president has presented his cabinet a draft regarding the introduction of new electoral system that would combine features of the First Past the Post system (FTPS) and proportional representation (PR). Right now, The Sri Lanka follows the proportional representation electoral system. 

     The government has proposed to create 140 new constituencies based on this system. It provides a clear-cut choice for voters between the two main parties. It gives rise to single-party governments, which helps the system to avoid coalition governments. 

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