News
Local council polls hang in balance: SC to take up two petitions
View(s):- Election Commission requests AG to appear for it, but discord among commissioners over call for nominations
By Ranjith Padmasiri and Damith Wickremasekara
The Election Commission has requested the Attorney General to appear for it when the Supreme Court takes up two petitions calling for the conduct of the Local Government elections scheduled for March.
The request came after the EC consulted the AG on Wednesday. The AG will, however, decide on the matter only tomorrow, the Sunday Times learns.
The elections still hang in the balance with divisions within the EC regarding the decision to call for the nominations. During consultations the EC had with Attorney
General Sanjaya Rajaratnam, at least two of the Commission members said no proper consultations were held to call for nominations, the Sunday Times learns.
Only four of the five members of the Commission were present at the meeting. The fifth member was indisposed.
During the consultation, it transpired that though a decision had been taken to call for nominations, and all the members had signed in favour of the decision, there had been no memorandum put forward or even minutes maintained at the board meeting.
The Attorney General had raised the question whether talks had been held with Delimitation Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya in view of the call by the Government that the number of local council members should be reduced and new wards be drawn up.
The commissioners had stated they had not met the Delimitation Commissioners before a decision to call for nominations was taken. The Elections Commissioners met the Delimitation Commissioners thereafter.
Two petitions have been filed by opposition parliamentarians seeking a Supreme Court directive to conduct elections while another petition has been filed by a retired colonel seeking a postponement of the elections. The opposition MPs’ petition has been listed for hearing before the Supreme Court on January 18.
The AG has not been cited as a respondent in the petitions filed by the opposition members.
EC Chairman Nimal Punchchihewa told the Sunday Times the Commission could not postpone the call for nominations though the commissioners were aware of the economic crisis in the country and the issue of excessive members in the councils.
“It is up to the government to seek relief through a judicial or a parliamentary process requesting further time to conduct the polls,” he said.
Mr. Punchihewa added that even after the nominations had ended and the date for elections was announced there was still provision for the EC to call for a postponement after seeking a report from the District Secretaries, similar to what happened over the postponement of polls as a result of COVID19.
The Parliamentary elections were postponed on two occasions in 2020 and eventually held in August of the same year.
He said the court too could take a decision on the conduct of the polls.
Nominations for the local council polls will be received from January 18 to 21 in respect of 340 local councils — 24 Municipal Councils, 41 Urban Councils, and 275 Pradeshiya Sabhas.
At the upcoming polls, 16.6 million people are eligible to vote.
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