News
‘Instead, quorum should have been reduced’
Increasing the number of election commissioners irrational decision – CMEV
by PRIYAN DE SILVA
The National Coordinator of the Center for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) Manjula Gajanayake said that increasing the number of the Election Commission members from three to five was an irrational decision.
Gajanayake said that elections in the country had been managed by a single person for 60 years before the EC was appointed in 2015. “It
would have been better to reduce the required quorum of the EC to two out of the three members rather than increase the number of members” he added.
The 20th Amendment to the Constitution says: “There shall be an Election Commission consisting of five members appointed by the President subject to the provisions of Article 41A from amongst persons who have distinguished themselves in any profession or in the field of administration or education. One of the members so appointed shall be a retired officer of the Department of Elections or Election Commission, who has held office as a Deputy Commissioner of Elections or above. The President shall appoint one member as its Chairman”.
Welcoming the decision to appoint a ‘Parliamentary Council’ to replace the Constitutional Council Gajanayake said that it has not been vested with sufficient powers.
“Now at least one of the six persons (five members of the Commission and the Commissioner-General) would have past experience in conducting elections” he quipped.
The Paddy Marketing Board has approximately 115,000 metric tonnes of paddy stocks purchased from farmers, which are currently stored in the Board’s warehouses, and it has been planned to retain a sufficient buffer stock from these reserves and sell the remaining quantity in order to provide the necessary storage space and financial resources for the purchase of paddy from farmers during the upcoming Yala season.
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation to sell the aforementioned paddy stocks
following a formal tender procedure.
The Promotion of Export Agriculture Act, No. 46 of 1992 provides the legal provisions for regulating and promoting the export agriculture sector in this country.
Taking into consideration administrative changes and sectoral developments that have taken place over time, approval was granted at the Cabinet Meetings held on 2023-09-04 and 2025-08-11 to amend the said Act, which has not been updated for over 30 years.
The proposed amendments are intended to amend the designations of the Head of the Department of Export Agriculture and other officials, and to provide a clearer definition of the term “the export agricultural crop.”
Accordingly, the Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Land and Irrigation to publish in the Government Gazette the Draft Export Agriculture Promotion (Amendment) Bill, prepared in all three languages by the Legal Draftsman to amend the Export Agriculture Promotion Act, No. 46 of 1992, and thereafter submit the same to Parliament for its concurrence
Latest News
Ms. M.K.D.N. Madampe, appointed as Director General of the Department of Management Services
The Cabinet of Ministers has approved the resolution furnished by the President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, to appoint Ms. M.K.D.N. Madampe, an officer of the Sri Lanka Administrative Service in the Special Grade who is currently serving as an Additional Director General of the Department of Management Services, to the post of Director General of the Department of Management Services with immediate effect.
Cabinet approves sale of Paddy stocks held by the Paddy Marketing Board
Amendment to the Promotion of Export Agriculture Act, No. 46 of 1992 to be gazatted
Ms. M.K.D.N. Madampe, appointed as Director General of the Department of Management Services
Cabinet approves collaboration agreement between Sri Lanka and Brazil for the implementation of the “Sugarcane Project in Sri Lanka”
Cabinet approval for Implementation of a Project for the Joint Exchange of Genetic Resources between Sri Lanka and Vietnam and the Development of High-Yielding and Salinity-resilient Rice Varieties.
Landslide Early Warnings issued to the Districts of Kalutara, Kegalle, Nuwara Eliya and Ratnapura extended till1600 hrs on Wednesday [27]
‘Dates have the highest sugar content to fight Coronavirus’
Sunday Island 27 December – Headlines
#SundayIsland 17th December – Headlines
Sunday Island – 28th March
Sunday Island Headlines – 21 March
Sunday Island – 21st February – Headlines
-
Features7 days agoOctopus, Leech, and Snake: How Sri Lanka’s banks feast while the nation starves
-
Sports7 days agoSri Lanka women’s volleyball team ready for Central Asian challenge
-
Opinion6 days agoMurder of Ehelepola family, Bogambara Wewa and Sightings of Wangediya
-
Business5 days agoHistoric launch of CCWE Fashion Week & International Summit 2026
-
News6 days agoSteps underway to safeguard Sri Lanka’s maritime heritage
-
News2 days agoPolice probe underway to ascertain links between criminals deported from UAE and local politicians
-
Features3 days agoThe NPP’s pivot to the past
-
Editorial6 days agoA play without its protagonist