12 April 2019 08:56 am
The Elections Commission (EC) has written to Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe requesting him to hand over the review into the Provincial Councils Electoral Delimitation Report to President Maithripala Sirisena.
It had stated that after the Prime Minister hands over this report and it is gazetted, the impediments to the holding of provincial council elections would cease to exist.
Furthermore, it pointed out that with the handing over of this report, democracy would be strengthened and people’s fundamental rights would be secured.
With a view of holding the Provincial Council (PC) elections under the newly introduced mixed voting system, a review committee was appointed under the chairmanship of former Surveyor General K. Thawalingam to prepare a delimitation report that was needed for PC polls to take place.
The delimitation report, when presented to parliament by the then minister of local government and provincial councils Faiszer Musthapha, was defeated with a majority of MPs voting against it.
Thereafter, the report was handed over to a special committee headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe for it to make the necessary changes and hand it over to the President in two months’ time.
It would then be gazetted in order for Provincial Council elections to be held thereafter. This, however, did not take place and even after nearly eight months the amended report has not reached the President, causing the Provincial Council elections to be delayed as a result. (Ranjan Kasthuri)