No NPC, so no polls: Commissioner

25 March 2013 03:07 am

The Elections Department stated that elections in the Northern Province  could not be held as the Northern Provincial Council was yet to be constituted by the  President.

The Department said despite the government finalising plans to hold the Northern  Provincial Council Elections they were unable to begin the election process as the  Northern Provincial Council did not exist.

Elections Commissioner, Mahinda Deshapriya said  that after the de-merger of  the North- Eastern Province in 2006, only the Eastern Provincial Council had been  gazetted when the elections for the province were to be held.

“The Eastern Provincial Council was gazetted and the President then ordered the  Elections Department to hold elections in the province - the same procedure should be  followed in the Northern Province but we have not received our orders as yet,” the  Elections Commissioner said.  

He further stated that the whole election procedure would take three months and if  elections were to be held in September they would have to receive the Presidential  order by May.  

Meanwhile, the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) commenting on the government’s decision  to hold elections in the Northern Province said the elections for the province had  been delayed under the ruse of resettling Internally Displaced Persons (IDP’s).

TNA MP, M. A Sumanthiran said the government had held a Presidential and General  election three years ago and he saw no reason as to why a Provincial Council election  needed to be postponed.  “Resettlement is not yet complete but if they can hold two  major elections during this time, then why not this?” he questioned.

During an interview to the Hindu Newspaper in India last year, President Mahinda  Rajapakse stated that elections for the Northern Province were to be held in September  this year. Taking note of this statement, the recently passed US backed resolution  against Sri Lanka at the United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHCR) had welcomed the  government’s decision to hold elections in the Northern Province. (Nabeela Hussain)