Executive undermining judiciary, EC, election laws, PAFFREL

By Rathindra Kuruwita

The Constitution, the Elections Commission, elections laws and the judiciary no longer had any say in holding elections, and the President now had all the power to determine whether elections are held or not, Executive Director of People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) Rohana Hettiarachchi says.

“The President can say we will hold the presidential election instead of the local government elections. Or he can say, we will hold the general election first. Given that the law is blatantly ignored, anything is possible,” Hettiarachchi said.

Commissioner General of Elections Saman Sri Ratnayake said he could not say when the elections could be held and that a decision would be taken when the government made funds available or when the Supreme Court issued a ruling asking the Commission to hold elections.

“However, the Supreme Court did issue a directive. It asked those who handle finance not to obstruct the holding of elections. However, the government has ignored this,” Hettiarachchi said.

The PAFFREL Executive Director said that although the local government election had been postponed, Sri Lanka was still technically in an election period.

“Now, there is a lot of confusion. An election was declared and later postponed. The question is whether election laws still apply to us. If election laws apply the government must curtail a number of its activities and it has to seek the approval of the Elections Commission if it is carrying out welfare or development work. The government can’t recruit, promote, punish or transfer state employees. Now, no one knows what’s going on,” he said.