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Omalpe Thera calls for general election

“… as the country will not receive any aid until a legitimate government is in power”
By M.B. Pahalawatta
Sri Lanka needs to have a general election soon as the country will not receive any aid until a legitimate government is in power, Ven. Omalpe Sobitha Thera, Chief Sanghanayake (Dakshina Lankawa) of the Ramanna Nikaya, said.
“People in this country need to be given an opportunity to elect a new government, too. This is not an excuse for the government to delay elections. The Parliament must be dissolved, in March, and a General Election needs to be held,” the Thera said.
The Thera added that the disastrous economic policies of successive governments have led Sri Lanka to this crisis.
“Sri Lanka is now going from country to country with a begging bowl in hand. The President must use his powers to dissolve the Parliament, in March. Until a stable and legitimate government is established, Sri Lanka will not receive any international aid. No matter what the current government says, no country has come forth to offer bridging finance, and why would they?” he asked.
The Thera said that he personally sees no point in holding local council elections. Local councils do not have the power to change the government policies and it will only be an indication of how people feel.
News
PNS Shahjahan departs after successful naval exercise

The Pakistan Naval Ship (PNS) Shahjahan which arrived in Colombo on 02nd June 2023 on a two-day official visit, departed the island on 04th June 2023.
News
EC opposes govt. move to appoint its henchmen to monitor local councils

By Priyan de Silva
The Election Commission (ECSL) has opposed a move by the government to appoint representatives of the Chairpersons of the Regional Development Committee to monitor local government institutions.
ECSL Chairman Nimal G. Punchihewa told The Island that the government had informed the ECSL of its plan to appoint representatives of the Chairpersons of the Regional Development Committee to monitor the local government bodies and the ECSL had decided to write to the Ministry of Local Government opposing the move, he said. A Chairman of a regional development committee ESD a representative of a particular political party and it would be unfair by other parties for such appointments to be made, the EC Chairman said.
Punchihewa said that the administration of local government institutions could be done through Municipal Commissioners and Divisional Secretaries.Many political parties had complained against the government move, he said.
News
JVP says govt. has enough funds for elections

By Saman Indrajith
The JVP would file a fresh application before the Supreme Court against the government for not holding the local council polls, JVP MP Vijitha Herath said yesterday.Addressing the media at the party headquarters in Pelawatte, Herath said that his party had ascertained fresh information by invoking the Right to Information Act about the funds needed for the holding of the elections and his party would file another fundamental rights case against those responsible for conducting elections.
“The LG polls were to be held on 09 March. They were postponed until 25 April, and later they were put off indefinitely. The President appoints Governors to the provinces and the local councils are under them. Now, he says no party commands the support of 50 percent of voters.
Is this reason why he is not holding elections? His claim that there are no funds for elections is not acceptable. The Election Commission (EC) has, in a letter to the Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, asked for Rs 1,100 million in installments for conducting local government elections. The Secretary to the Ministry of Finance, on 07 March, informed
the EC that the latter’s request had been referred to the Minister of Finance on the same day. But so far the money has not been released. As per a report released by the Treasury, the government revenue was Rs 177,900 million in January this year alone. Of that amount, Rs 156,760 was allocated to government institutions. The Treasury has Rs 21,410 million. In February, the government revenue was at Rs. 271,750 million and of that Rs. 208,620 million was spent. The balance was Rs 63,130 million. In January and February, the Treasury had Rs 84,270 million. These figures have been officially confirmed by a Deputy Treasury Secretary. The EC is seeking only Rs 2,460 million for elections. So, the claim that there is no money for elections is false as per official records. We will submit this information to the Supreme Court when we file a fresh application. We will prove that the government has lied to people,” Herath said.
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