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On Sunday 30 October 2011, The Rebellion Room of the Castle Grand started filling with members of the Sri Lanka Association and the quorum of sixty was reached and exceeded before the time provided under the Rules.

The AGM commenced with a welcome by the President Avinder and the adoption of the minutes of the previous AGM and the President’s Report for the year. I will not dwell on the proceedings at length as Kamani Walpola the new Editor of the Thorathuru will be doing a comprehensive report on the AGM.

The incoming committee was elected under the Rules drafted by the Amaranath Committee and adopted by the Association on 24 November 2002. The Rules eliminated three evils that were perceived to infect elections under the previous Rules, the possibility of member stacking on the eve of the AGM, securing proxy votes from those who had no genuine interest in the welfare of the Association and the secrecy of the ballot.

A wise precaution by the Amaranath Committee also ensured that the heat of a contested election would have evaporated by the poll being closed at forty eight hours before the AGM. All that remained to be done was the counting of the votes by the three suitable persons appointed as Returning Officers.

Perhaps the election exposed one lacuna in the Rules. The Rules provided that the functions relating to the accepting of nominations and the running of an election by secret ballot were vested in the Secretary. But the Rules did not provide for a situation where the Secretary and other members of the committee stand nominated as candidates for a contested election.

Fortunately, the three Returning Officer, Ananda Amaranath, Cecil Weerakoon and Sanath Nanayakkara, all Past Presidents of the Association stepped into the breech and conducted the collection of the nominations for the several posts, the preparation and issue of Voting Papers, and scrutinising the eligibility of the members to be electors. They also examined the votes that had been cast in the presence of three nominees from each of the teams contesting the election. These votes were in individually sealed envelopes that were opened and tallied at the AGM.

As democracy demands, each contesting team put out a manifesto of equally cogent reasons as to why the Voters should entrust the conduct of the affairs of the Association for the coming year to their team. As the campaign progressed vigorous canvassing took place both by personal and electronic contact with the electors. At about 8:00 p.m. on Sunday night, the voters spoke and their voices reverberated through the Rebellion Room.

On Sunday the proceedings went as smoothly as a well oiled machine. The three Returning Officers, along with three Counting Agents from each team sat in a room outside the Hall but in full view of the members in the Hall. While the Election Officers toiled through their task, the members were treated to short eats, soft drinks and cakes. Some of it ordered by the Association and others donated by members of the outgoing Committee.

After about two hours of counting and tallying votes, the Returning Officers attended the Hall to resume the proceedings on the Agenda of the AGM.

Ananda Amaranath announced the results of the voting:-

President

SPG Mahanama - 48 votes

Roshan Wickramanayake - 82 votes - Elected

Vice Presidents

Jayantha. Abeydeera - 52 votes

Anoja De Alwis - 72 votes - Elected

Shelton Peiris - 82 votes - Elected

Don Wickrema - 52 votes

Secretaries

Yamuna De Silva - 48 votes

Prasani Jayaweera - 48 votes

Nelum Joachim - 82 votes - Elected

Prasan Uluwishewa - 78 votes - Elected

Treasurer

Priya Viswakula - 49 votes

Rajan Wije - 81 votes - Elected

Committee Members

Wije Ariyaratne - 90 votes - Elected

Niranjali Athulathmudali - 89 votes - Elected

Narelle Bolling - 90 votes - Elected

Simon Budhiwijaya - 42 votes

Niranjan De Alwis - 82 votes - Elected

Presenji Jayawickrema - 80 votes - Elected

Krishan Lye - 50 votes

Indrani Mahanama - 54 votes

Sunethra Nadarajah - 90 votes - Elected

Nimal Punchihewa - 50 votes

Don Sandanayake - 53 votes

Omar Sherrif - 97 votes - Elected

Lucien Wijetunge - 93 votes – Elected

The Editor

Kamani Walpola had already been elected unopposed.

Sifting through the votes cast, and making allowances for personal friendships and loyalties, it appeared that there was a pattern in the voting. Those who approved of the manifesto put out by Roshan’s team were almost double the number who accepted the manifesto put out by Mahanama’s team.

Obviously those aspects of the two manifestos which reflect a common goal are worthy of implementation in the coming year. But it behoves the incoming Committee to take note that a third of the voters thought that the Association should re-examine its’ focus on the service that the members expect from the Association.

Another feature that signals a need for introspection is why the membership declined to a point where life members who had little option, constituted a substantial majority of the membership. True it is that the number of members had reached an unprecedented high as result of a vigorous campaign for increased membership that was driven by a contest. It appears that many of the new had not renewed their membership after the election.

But was there any other cause?

Over to you Roshan, and your new Committee. You guys and gals have the capacity to make that call.

Sunil de Silva