News
Socialist Alliance asks Prime Minister to call for early PC elections
The Socialist Alliance has urged Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa to hold the Provincial Council (PC) polls without further delay.
The Uva and Southern PC elections have been delayed by more than a year. The Northern and North Western PC polls should have been held two years ago, while elections to the Eastern, North Central & Sabaragamuwa PCs are overdue by three years, leaders of the Socialist Alliance, Prof. Tissa Vitarana (LSSP), Dr. G. Weerasinghe (SLCP), Vasudewa Nanayakkara (DLF), Asanka Nawarathne (SLMP) and D. Kalansooriya (DVJP) said in representations made to the premier.
These are a blatant violation of the conditions laid down for the conduct of the PC elections by the Election Commission in terms of the gazette notification dated January 29, 1988 (Provincial Councils Elections Act, No. 2 of 1988). According to the Act, it is mandatory that the process of holding the PC election should start within one week of the dissolution of any PC and be concluded in about two months, the Alliance said in a letter to the Prime Minister.
This gross violation of the Provincial Council Election Act was deliberately committed by the UNP led ‘Yahapalana’ government. In 2017, the previous government moved an amendment to the Provincial Council Act to enable them to delay the holding of the PC election. The active support of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) was received for this ‘undemocratic act’, it said.
With the victory of Gotabaya Rajapaksa in the November 2019 Presidential Election and the near two-third majority secured soon after by the SLPP to form a government, the expectation was that steps would be taken to have the PC elections soon. This was especially after the safe manner in which the General Election was conducted. However, there appears to be reluctance to hold the PC elections despite the fact that there has been considerable delay after they were dissolved, it further said.
On the basis of the Dinesh Gunawardena Committee Report, one of the reasons given for the delay was the introduction of the mixed electoral system where 70% of the elected representatives were to be chosen on an individual electorate basis, while the balance 30% would be selected on a proportional basis. Some people claim there would be a delay in the process due to delimitation problems, it noted.
But a large number of political parties and the public, including the organization of former representatives of the PCs, have been strongly agitating for early elections to be held. This delay on the part of the government has led to much distraction and criticism by all these organizations, it added.
The letter further said: “Many of these organizations have demanded that the elections should go ahead, if delays are due to the new laws, even on the basis of the earlier proportional representation system, which will have to be re-introduced. There are others who do not want the PC elections to be held until after the introduction of the new Constitution. This is in spite of the legal requirement that the elections have to be held early, within about two months after dissolution.
“There are also some concerns regarding the nature of the new Constitution and the possibility of not holding PC elections or even getting rid of the system altogether. The Left parties, grouped together as the Socialist Alliance, oppose these arguments and takes a firm stand for the holding of the PC election as soon as possible. Even at the time when the JVP threatened to kill the first five voters and the candidates who participated in the first PC election, the parties of the Socialist Alliance defied these threats and went ahead and contested and also voted.
“The members of the Socialist Alliance have stood firm behind the demand for holding PC elections since then as an important step towards protecting the democratic rights of the people.
“The Socialist Alliance wanted the democratic process at the provincial level to be extended by holding elections not only at the level of local government, but also by restoring the Village Council (Grama Sabha) system. Further, the establishment of the PC system with the devolution of power also satisfied the people of the North and the East. This has reduced their movement for separation. The movement within the Tamil-speaking people to have adequate devolution within a unitary state has gathered momentum. Extremist views have fallen to some extent. These satisfactory trends have helped to remove the false notion that devolution would pave the way for separation.
“Another reason given by some for postponing the PC election is the Covid-19 pandemic. This view has been repudiated by the Election Commission. The successful holding of the General Election too has supported this point of view. The government has also called for a return to near normalcy and named it “New normal situation”. The people in general are unhappy with the dominance of the bureaucracy in the public sector due to the non-functioning of the PCs.
“Some bureaucrats not only neglect the people but also abuse the uncontrolled power they have acquired. The claim that bringing back the PCs would add to the economic burden to the country is without any foundation as the expenditure incurred by the elected representatives is estimated to add only about 1% to the total cost. Some members of the Central government try to gain an advantage by not having PCs so that they could abuse those powers as well.
“Under the circumstances, the Socialist Alliance strongly supports the holding of early elections to the PCs and demand that the government respects both the democratic rights as well as the welfare needs of the people. The Alliance favors the rapid introduction of the mixed system of elections, but if this is bound to get delayed, we would even support the introduction of the proportional representation voting system”.
The Sri Lanka Navy successfully recovered its Fast Attack Craft P 4447 following a successful salvage operation, bringing a multi-stage emergency response to a close.
The craft, which ran into distress during a routine patrol on 15th August 2026 off Angulana, was brought to the surface on 11th September, from a depth of approximately 80 feet. It was
subsequently towed to the Colombo Dockyard premises.
The initial phase of the operation immediately following the incident focused on search and rescue. A joint effort involving the Navy, Air Force, Police, and local fishermen from Angulana
resulted in the rescue of 11 crew members. The search and rescue phase drew to a close with the recovery of the remains of the Second in Command of the craft, on 4th September.
Following the search and rescue phase, specialized Navy diving and salvage teams launched a dedicated recovery phase against rough sea conditions and underwater challenges, adhering to
strict safety protocols. The Navy’s marine, hull, electrical, and electronic engineering teams utilized specialized technical know-how and equipment to raise the vessel in stages.
Thus, the salvage operation marked an outstanding achievement attained through the professionalism, technical expertise of Navy divers, and coordinated contribution of all
engineering and technical branches of the Sri Lanka Navy. Technical support and specialized expertise were also extended by the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and Colombo Dockyard PLC.
By Shamindra Ferdinando
The Opposition should intensity its focus on the forthcoming selection of a member of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption (CIABOC) and remain vigilant as Speaker Dr. Jagath Wickremaratne, MP, the head of the Constitutional Council (CC) tasked with making the relevant recommendation, is under investigation by the CIABOC, sources familiar with the ongoing inquiry told The Island.
Chethiya Goonasekara, PC, is expected to complete his three-year term on Dec 31, 2026. Sources pointed out that CIABOC Commissioners are appointed by the President on the recommendation made by the 10-member Constitutional Council.
The CIABOC initiated the investigation following a complaint lodged by suspended Chief of Staff and Deputy Secretary General of Parliament Chaminda Kularatne in early February this year. Sources said that as Goonasekera is scheduled to complete his term toward the end of 2026, the CC would have to call applications soon to choose the successor.
Goonasekara received his appointment from President Ranil Wickremesinghe in January 2024. A Justice W. M. N. P. Iddawala was appointed Chairman of the CIABOC. The other commissioner is K. Bernard Rajapakse.
Asked whether Iddawala and Rajapakse, too, would complete their terms soon, sources said that in terms of the Anti-Corruption Act No 09 of 2023, the Chairman of CIABOC would hold office for a period of five years, second commissioner (K. Bernard Rajapakse) for four years and the third commissioner (Chethiya Goonasekara) for a period of three years.
Sources said that the Opposition as well as civil society representatives in the CC should take up the issue of Speaker facing an investigation by the CIABOC taking part in the forthcoming selection process. Responding to queries, sources emphasized that the issue was whether in terms of Section 107 of the Anti-Corruption Act the participation of the Speaker in the selection process amounted to a violation of the Act itself.
The current members of the CC are Dr Jagath Wickramaratne, Speaker and Chairman of the Constitutional Council, Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, Prime Minister, Sajith Premadasa, Leader of the Opposition, Bimal Rathnayake, MP, Aboobucker Athambawa, MP, Ajith P. Perera, MP, Sivagnanam Shritharan, MP, Austin Fernando, Civil society representative, Prof. Wasantha Seneviratne, Civil society representative and Ranjith Ariyaratne, Civil society representative.
Sources pointed out that in spite of the sensitivity of the case, the CIABOC recorded Kularatne’s statement in the second week of August, six months after he lodged the complaint.
The CIABOC on 3, 8 and 10 Sept recorded the statements from the Transport Officer, Deputy Director, Administration and Assistant Director, Finance regarding the use of facilities by the Speaker, those assigned to his staff and other relevant matters.
The NPP named Dr. Wickramaratne as the Speaker after Asoka Ranwala resigned over controversy regarding his higher education qualifications.
SJB lawmaker Dayasiri Jayaskera has repeatedly raised the issues concerning the Speaker with the focus also on the Speaker using two government-managed residences, relevant staff in addition to expenditure on food, transport and fuel provided to the Speaker’s private secretary.
Political sources said that trouble erupted after the Parliamentary Staff Advisory Council in late January sacked Kularatne accusing him of providing false information to secure his appointment. Before being appointed as the Deputy Secretary-General of Parliament in 2023, Kularatne held several high-ranking positions, including Secretary to the Chief Government Whip, Additional Secretary to the President, Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister, and Additional Secretary to the Leader of the Opposition.
The SJB declared in Parliament that Ranwala should be brought back as the Speaker as they have no faith in Wickramaratne. MP Mujibur Rahuman jokingly told parliament that the Opposition wouldn’t raise Ranwala’s educational qualifications.
The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) has stressed the need to conduct a comprehensive countrywide cadre revision urgently.
GMOA spokesman Dr. Lasitha Dhammika told The Island that the failure on the part of successive governments to conduct cadre revision caused the deterioration of the public sector health services. Due to the absence of required statistics, they hadn’t been able to fully comprehend the situation on the ground and to ascertain the requirements of the public.
Dr. Dhammika pointed out the expansion of the services without supporting statistics and the need to initiate an immediate cadre revision. According to him, the GMOA had raised this issue with successive governments without success. The GMOA spokesman said that they also sought relevant information from the Health Ministry in terms of the Right to Information (RTI) Act two weeks ago but was yet to receive response.
(SF)
Fast Attack Craft P 4447 recovered in successful salvage operation
Showers above 100 mm are likely at some places in the Western, Central, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, North-central and North-western provinces
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CIABOC member’s appointment: Controversy over Speaker under probe heading selection process
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