[Editorial] GNP’s Boycott of Plenary Session Regrettable

The plenary session of National Assembly, with the participation of lawmakers from the governing Uri Party and minor opposition Democratic (DP) and Democratic Labor (DLP) parties, passed six bills on Tuesday including a new anti-real estate law and a bill under which residents would be allowed to demand recall elections on local officials. The Speaker exercised his authority to lay these bills before the National Assembly. Whatever reasons they might have had, it is regrettable that the lawmakers of the main opposition Grand National Party (GNP) boycotted the plenary session. In addition, lawmakers of Uri Party and GNP lawmakers repeated their old ways by occupying the entrance to the hall and the Speaker’s office, respectively, starting the previous day.

It is depressing to think of how long such group politics might continue. It is fortunate, however, that the legislators fought with each other and exchanged shouts and abusive languages for a while yesterday, but there wasn’t a serious physical clash like before. It was because the GNP felt a sense of burden to interrupt the passing of urgent public welfare-related bills and didn’t try to prevent it by force till the end.

Yesterday’s enforcement of votes in the plenary session may attribute to the immature political power of the ruling party, but we have to blame the GNP more which has boycotted the management of the National Assembly demanding a revision of the private school law. In the previous authoritarian governments, the opposition parties often took the National Assembly as hostage by way of democratization. But time has changed and there are no bills so important as to sacrifice all of other public welfare-related ones.

The GNP legislators have exerted all their energy for the revision of private school law but most of the public don’t support this. In this situation, they have paralyzed the National Assembly by preventing it from passing other bills. It is an important principle of parliamentary democracy to have dialogues and negotiations till the end but when they fail, to vote. Now is the time to abandon the old practice and return to principles. The final decision will be made by voters. This is not the time for the ruling and opposition parties to fight each other. Hopefully they recover their composure and return to the politics of dialogue.