LG polls Bill passed

By Saman Indrajith

The Local Government Elections (Special Provisions) Bill was passed in Parliament unanimously with all government and opposition MPs present in the House voting for it.

Following the vote taken at 7 pm, Speaker Dr Jagath Wickramaratne announced to the House that the Bill had been passed at the second reading stage with 187 MPs voting for it.

The Bill was passed in its original form.

When the Bill was moved to the committee stage, Opposition MPs were not present in the House, but the government called for a division. Accordingly, it received 158 votes for at the third reading stage.

This is to get the 2nd and 3rd clauses passed by a special parliamentary majority.

The Supreme Court ruled last Friday that two clauses of the Local Authorities Elections (Special Provisions) Bill must be passed by a two-thirds special majority in Parliament.

The Supreme Court concluded that Clauses 2 and 3 of the Bill are inconsistent with Article 12 (1) of the Constitution, and therefore must be passed by a special majority vote in accordance with Article 84 (2) of the Constitution.

Clause 2 empowers the cancellation of nominations called for the Local Government Election that was scheduled to be held on March 9, 2023.

The clause also includes provisions for the return of the deposit money made by political parties or independent groups for the local government elections to the relevant persons.

The third clause states that steps should be taken in accordance with the provisions of the Ordinance to commence the holding of the relevant election.

According to the Supreme Court ruling, a two-thirds approval of the Parliament was required to enact these provisions.

The Local Government Election Special Provisions Bill was debated in Parliament yesterday to obtain approval for these clauses.

The Local Authorities Elections (Special Provisions) Bill approved by the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government.

The approval was received when the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government met in Parliament last Friday (14) under the chairmanship of Minister Dr Chandana Abayaratne.