23 March 2024 12:00 am
President Ranil Wickremesinghe is reported to have told Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) stalwart Basil Rajapaksa that he does not intend to postpone elections in the guise of implementing electoral reforms.
Mr. Rajapaksa is reported to have raised this matter against the backdrop of the Cabinet approving a proposal to draft legislation to change the parliamentary electoral system to a hybrid model replacing the current system of proportional representation.The President said it when Mr. Rajapaksa met him on Thursday evening. Mr. Rajapaksa said people had already been denied the opportunity to exercise their franchise over the indefinite postponement of the elections to the local authorities and the provincial councils. He said both the local and provincial administrations are carried out today without elected representatives, leading to problems at the end. Also, he is reported to have told the President that the members who served in these bodies previously face numerous political and social issues today.