LG Polls to be held in phases - EC

By Kurulu Koojana Kariyakarawana

The local government elections originally scheduled for May 6 will have to be held on a staggered basis, as it is now certain that the election processes for over 200 out of 339 local government bodies have been challenged before the Court of Appeal, the Daily Mirror learns.  

As of yesterday, only 113 out of 339 local government bodies have been cleared for the May 6 elections, with no rejection of nomination lists or objections. The nomination lists for the 226 local government bodies have been rejected and candidates on these rejected lists are entitled to file cases against the Election Commission until April 21, the sources within the Election Commission of Sri Lanka said.   

The cases pending before the Court of Appeal seek writs against holding the elections. The number of cases is not yet known to the Court or the Election Commission, and the final date for filing cases is April 21.  

The Court of Appeal has ordered that some of the lists rejected by the Election Commission be declared null and void and included in the election. However, the Election Commission plans to challenge all these orders before the Supreme Court, commission sources said.   

Once the final decision is made by the courts, ballot papers for the local government bodies where nomination lists were rejected will need to be reprinted. “This is not a nationwide election, as in the case of Presidential or General Elections. Ballots and documents incidental to the election process for each local government body will need to be printed separately. Depending on the final court decisions, the ballot papers may need to be reprinted,” the sources said.   

When contacted, Director General ECSL Saman Ratnayake told the Daily Mirror that the process is progressing to hold the elections on May 6, in accordance with the provisions of the Local Authorities Elections (Amendment) Act No. 16 of 2017.   

“We will hold elections for the local government bodies for which there are no legal barriers, and this will depend on the final decision of the courts,” Ratnayake said.