Mr. Saman Sri Ratnayake, Commissioner General, added his thoughts.
All members of parliament are aware that the local government election must be completed by March 19th, so Mr. Mahindananda must have stated that the election will take place, and that the Election Commission will undoubtedly do the necessary work to hold elections.
After the appointment of a Delimitation Commission in 2012, three years and two years of consultation under Mr. Ashoka Peris resulted in the 8700 decision.
Based on that 8700, the 2018 local government election was held; however, due to the Minister’s powers, it was postponed by one year.
The Local Government Act No. 16 of 2017 governs the number of members to be appointed at the division level and from additional lists.
That is the current law, and it is our responsibility to see that it is followed.
Has there ever been a popular election in history? Elections were held both during the war and during the Covid.
The Election Commission can only interpret things that have been assigned to us; we cannot interpret things that have not been assigned to us.
If an election is held in any year, we request that the current government make the necessary provisions.
We requested $10 billion in 2022, $11 billion in 2023, and $10 billion in the 2023 budget for the election.
We have not been told that money has not been allocated from the treasury for the election.
In a democratic country, it is the government’s responsibility to prioritise people’s sovereignty.
The Election Commission was said to have gazetted a date for accepting nominations in the last week of this year.
This conference was also attended by Mr. Sujiva Gayanath, National Coordinator of the Pepperl Organization.
– Ranjith Rajapakse,
