Country lost Rs 700 mn due to LG polls postponement

By Rathindra Kuruwita

The local council (LG) elections will be held before the Sinhala and Tamil New Year, says Commissioner General of Elections Saman Sri Rathnayake.

The long overdue provincial council elections, too, would be held after a few months, Rathnayake told The Island yesterday.

The postponement of the LG polls in 2023 had not only deprived 16 million people of an opportunity to elect their local councillors but also caused a loss of Rs. 700 mn to the state coffers, Rathnayake said, adding that the LG polls were the most operationally challenging electoral contest.

The Government Printer had to print 340 different ballot papers, for each local council. “Once they print sample ballot papers, we will have to proofread them extremely fast. There were over 80,200 candidates who wanted to contest the 2023 local council election,” he said.

Ratnayake said that some people thought expenses for elections could be reduced if the local and provincial council elections were held on the same day, but it was not possible.

“During an election we establish a polling centre with a particular number of voters in mind. We estimate past voting patterns and the average time a voter needs to cast his or her ballot. If we hold local and provincial councils elections together, we will have to establish more polling centres because voters need double the time to vote. Otherwise we won’t be able to finish voting by 4 p.m., on the same day,” Rathnayake said, adding that if the Election Commission had to double the number of polling centres, that would mean the deployment of double the election staff, ballot boxes, vehicles, etc.