Ranil-led group asks govt. to hold PC polls

Former Cabinet Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne yesterday (27) claimed that there was no consensus between the JVP and the NPP regarding the long delayed Provincial Council (PC) polls.

Dr. Senaratne said that though JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva had declared in Jaffna, over the last weekend, that it wouldn’t be possible to conduct PC polls this year, due to financial constraints and legal impediments, the position of NPP General Secretary Dr. Nihal Abeysinghe was different.

Addressing the media at Hotel Nippon, on behalf of the People’s United Opposition grouping, operating out of Ranil Wickremesinghe’s Flower Road Office, Dr. Senaratne, who represents the UNP, claimed that the JVP/NPP was all out to postpone the long delayed PC polls. The New Democratic Front (NDF) parliamentary group, elected to the current Parliament, received the backing of Wickremesinghe.

The ex-Minister explained how the NPP, with a 159-member parliamentary group, could comfortably secure the approval of the Parliament to conduct the PC polls under Proportional Representation system.

Declaring that they would submit combined candidate lists at the PC polls, Dr. Senaratne declared that those who declined to join them would be considered traitors.

Dr. Senaratne emphasised that there was no need for alliances and their objectives could be achieved through fielding combined candidate lists.

The Illankai Thamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) was represented by former lawmaker and acting Secretaray General of ITAK but the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) and the main Opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) weren’t represented.

Convenor of the People’s United Opposition Prof. G. L Peiris, at the beginning of the briefing, explained how the people were deprived of their democratic rights by the NPP, through the postponement of PC polls.

On Tuesday (26) MPs Shanakiyan Rasamanikkam, Mano Ganesan, and Nizam Kariapper attended a joint Opposition discussion with SJB and others, organised by PAFFREL. MP Rasamanikkam has criticised the delay in holding PC elections.

The Batticaloa District MP highlighted that he had already presented a private member’s bill to facilitate the conduct of elections, under the earlier system.

Rasamanikkam said:”The four Opposition members representing the Parliamentary Select Committee affirmed their stance to hold the Provincial Council elections under the preferential voting system.

“We noted, however, that the establishment of this committee appears to be a measure to further delay the process.

“Concurrently, an Additional Solicitor General of the Attorney General’s Department presented two proposals for conducting the elections.

“One of these recommendations involves introducing minor amendments concerning women and youth representation to the private member’s motion I tabled in Parliament, which seeks to hold the Provincial Council elections under the previous system.”

Meanwhile, PAFFREL said that altogether 42 political parties and civil society organisations were involved in that discussion.

PAFFREL said that of the 42 political parties and monitoring organisations that participated in the discussion, all but one political party consented to endorse the following joint statement. And it was decided to forward the joint statement to the Parliamentary Select Committee and the government.

“We, the secretaries of political parties and representatives of the other organisations, who attended the meeting organised by PAFFREL at the Hector Kobbekaduwa Agricultural Training and Research Institute, on 26 May, 2026, agreed to the proposal adopted to hold the Provincial Council elections as per the electoral system prevailed prior to the enactment of Act No. 17 of 2017, pending the final outcome of the Parliamentary Select Committee. We also agreed to ensure 25% representation of women and youth on a voluntary basis.”

A Parliamentary delegation, comprising 20 Members of Parliament, and four officials, of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, led by Dr. Kaushalya Ariyarathna, Deputy Minister of Mass Media, is in China to participate in a workshop for Members of Parliament of Sri Lanka being held in Beijing and Guangdong.

The programme has been organised by the International Cooperation Centre of the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of China, from 26th May to 5th June, 2026.

The delegation arrived in Beijing, on 25 May, and commenced official engagements on 26th May, with the Opening Ceremony of the Workshop held at the Fenghui Centre in Beijing, Parliament said.

Japanese Ambassador in Colombo Akio Isomata yesterday (27) signed a grant contract for a demining project under the scheme of “Grant Assistance for Grassroots Human Security Projects (GGP)”, with Kevin Klerx, Head of Support Services of the Mines Advisory Group(MAG), Ms. Hannah Picton, Programme Manager of the Hazardous Area Life-support Organization(The HALO Trust) and Ananda Chandrasiri, Director/ Programme Manager of the Delvon Assistance for Social Harmony (DASH).

The text of the Japanese embassy press release: “The Government of Japan has provided USD 1,343,202 (approx. Rs. 400million) for these projects, which will be implemented by MAG, The HALO Trust and DASH, to support their humanitarian demining activities in the Northern and Eastern Provinces of Sri Lanka. Under this new project, almost 400,000 m2 of land is expected to be made mine-free, allowing more than 3,100 people to return to their land and approx. 22,000 people in the surrounding areas to expand their economic activities.

Japan has been a major donor to demining activities in Sri Lanka since 2002, and the total assistance amounts to over USD 49 million.”

The statement quoted Isomata as having said that: “Today’s signing of three (3) grant contracts is another testament to Japan’s commitment to continued assistance to the people of Sri Lanka, especially to those in the conflict-affected areas. At the same time, we also have to strengthen assistance to the affected communities for the enhancement of livelihoods and improvement of necessary infrastructure, in order to help the people of the communities to move on to the next stage of socio-economic development in the North and East in a seamless manner. I hope Japan’s continued assistance to the demining efforts of Sri Lanka will further strengthen the strong bond of trust and friendship that exists between Japan and Sri Lanka.”