News
Central Bank distances itself from LG polls
By Sanath Nanayakkare
Governor of the Central Bank Dr. Nandalal Weerasinghe said yesterday that the CBSL was not in any way connected to the matter of holding local government elections.
Dr. Weerasinghe said so responding to a question from journalists as to how the Central Bank viewed the possibility of holding the local government elections costing Rs. 10 billion while the country was facing a huge cash crunch.
“Allocation of funds for the local government election is a matter for the Finance Ministry, the Treasury and Parliament. It has nothing to do with the Central Bank. So, I can’t comment on it,” Dr. Weerasinghe said.
When asked what would be the impact on the economy in the event an election was held, he said,” I can’t predict the impact in the event an election is held. I can say that whether an election is held or not, the country will have to go ahead with the painful measures it is taking to get out of the current economic crisis. Sri Lanka is in a situation where talks on financial assurances, among the Paris Club, China and IMF are at a mature stage. The process has come thus far and it should continue until the objective is reached.”
When a journalist said that high taxes levied on professionals were going to land their bank accounts in the red, Dr. Weerasinghe said: “Taxes are determined by the Ministry of Finance and the Treasury. The Central Bank’s functions are to conduct the monetary policy, exchange rate policy, managing official international reserves, oversight of the financial system and price stability. Of course, there is coordination and consultation between monetary policy-making and the fiscal policymaking, but taxes are determined by the Ministry of Finance. However, if taxes affect to the extent as you say, then the Central Bank could see how such debt can be restructured to make repayments possible in an orderly manner.”
Dr. Weerasinghe made these comments following the official announcement of the Bank’s monthly monetary policy rates.
A specialists committee has been appointed by the Secretary to the Ministry of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation adhering to the decision of the Cabinet of Ministers dated 29.12.2025 for submitting appropriate recommendations analyzing the provisions of the draft bill formulation in regard to Animal Welfare.
Based on the recommendations of the said Committee, the Legal Draftsman has been instructed at the meeting of the Cabinet of Ministers held on 18.05.2026 to prepare the final bill on the animal welfare.
Wherefore, the Legal Draftsman has formulated the draft bill and the clearance of the Attorney General has been received in the connection.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers granted approval to the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation to publish the said draft bill in the
Government Gazette Notification and subsequently forward the same to the Parliament for its concurrence.
Under the legal provisions for elections in this country since 2004, it is mandatory for voters who come to mark their votes to verify their identity through a valid identity card, and it is also mandatory for all such voters to be marked with an appropriate mark using indelible ink. The dual purpose of these two functions is to prevent a voter from voting more than once in a single election.
It has been observed that having to follow two different
methods at the same time to achieve the same objective hinders the efficiency of the duties performed at the polling stations and also incurs additional costs to the government.
Therefore, it has been deemed appropriate to remove the legal provisions regarding the use of indelible ink and marking the voter with the appropriate mark from all election acts.
Accordingly, the development activities of the province, as well as national security, will benefit. Therefore, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the
President to take necessary steps to remove the legal provisions
• Section 36 of the presidential Election Act, No 15 of 1981
• Section 38 of the Parliamentary Election Act, No 01 of 1981
• Section 36 of the Provincial Council Election Act, No 02 of 1988
• Section 53 A of the Local Government Elections Ordinance (262 Authority)
• Section 21 of the Referendum Act No 7 of 1981
News
Showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
WEATHER FORECAST FOR 24 JUNE 2026
Issued at 05.30 a.m. on 24 June 2026 by the Department of Meteorology
Several spells of showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts. Showers or thundershowers may occur at a few places in the Uva province and in Ampara and Batticaloa districts after 2.00 p.m.
Fairly strong winds about (30-40) kmph can be expectedat times over the Western slopes of the central hills, the Northern, North-central, North-western and Southern provinces and in Trincomalee district.
The general public is kindly requested to take adequate precautions to minimize damage caused by temporary localized strong winds and lightning during thundershowers.
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Legal provisions on marking voters using indelible ink during elections removed
Showers will occur in the Western, Sabaragamuwa and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
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