5 January 2012 06:30 am
The government expects the support of “an overwhelming majority of political parties in parliament” to pass the Local Authorities Elections (Amendment) Bill on January 17, Chief Government Whip and Minister of Water Supply and Drainage Dinesh Gunawardena said today.
The Bill will be the first concrete move by the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government to introduce a hybrid electoral system featuring elements of both the First-Past-the-Post system and Proportional Representation (PR).
“There has been a call from the general public right throughout the country for a better system and the President has given his fullest blessings to implement the new system which will strengthen democratic governance in Sri Lanka,” Minister Gunawardena told the Daily Mirror.
The urgent need for electoral reforms was stressed by several parliamentarians following the Election Day shoot-out in Kolonnawa last October which resulted in the death of former MP Bharatha Lakshman Premachandra. (Ayesha Zuhair)