Concerns were raised by political parties and the legal fraternity today over a possible delay in gazetting of national list members by Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya because of the dispute over the post of UPFA General Secretary.

The UPFA expects to file a petition in the Supreme Court today or tomorrow challenging the sacking of Susil Premajayantha and Anura Priyadharshana Yapa from the posts of UPFA and the SLFP general secretaries and replacing them with Prof. Wishva Warnapala and Duminda Dissanayaka, a member of the UPFA legal team told Daily Mirror on condition of anonymity.

He said legal experts were preparing the petition and that in case the dispute was not resolved soon the first session of the new parliament scheduled for September 1 might also be delayed.

The core of the issue the Mahinda Rajapaksa faction not recognizing the sacking of Mr. Premajayantha and Mr. Yapa from their posts by President Maithripala Sirisena on Friday.

Prof. Wishva Warnapala and Duminda Dissanayaka who were appointed as acting general secretaries of the UPFA and the SLFP respectively had also obtained an enjoining order from the District Court of Colombo restraining Mr. Premajayantha and Mr. Yapa from interfering in the work of the acting general secretaries.

The enjoining order was obtained on Friday just prior to the court vacation beginning on Monday.

A court official said the Supreme Court and the Appeal Court would resume sessions only on August 31 at the end of the Court vacation and as such any legal action by Mr. Premajayantha and Mr. Yapa would have to be put off till then. However, the official said petitions could be filed in the two apex courts during the vacation.

Mr. Premajayantha, who commented on the removal of Mr. Yapa from the post of SLFP General Secretary and the appointment of Mr. Dissanayaka to replace him was a violation of the SLFP constitution of the SLFP and that the enjoining order had been obtained by misleading the court.

“The General Secretary of the UPFA can only be removed by a resolution approved by the UPFA Executive Committee and not by the leader according to its constitution. The acting General Secretary is not a member of the executive committee and his name has not been approved by it or that of the SLFP as required by the UPFA constitution. The two general secretaries have not been asked to show cause as to why they should not be sacked as required by the natural justice. Therefore this move is unlawful and unacceptable,” Mr. Premajayantha said.

He said the District Court did not have the jurisdiction to issue the enjoining order and that it should have issued by the Supreme Court.

Meanwhile, Mr. Yapa told Daily Mirror that Mr. Premajayantha would submit the list of the UPFA national list members to the Elections Commissioner at the close of the election.

“He is the legally appointed general secretary of the UPFA and under section 99A, Chapter XIV of the Constitution, the Elections Commissioner must accept the list submitted by Mr. Premajayantha,” Mr. Yapa said and added that he has already submitted the SLFP national list members to Mr. Premajayantha.

Veteran politician and a former UPFA national list member DEW Gunasekara said untangling the legal tangle on the issue would be time consuming and might delay the first session of the new parliament scheduled for September 1. (Sandun A Jayasekera)