News
Opposition asks EC to hold LG polls on 19 March
threatens legal action against errant officials
All Opposition parties have called on the Election Commission (EC) to hold the local government (LG) polls by 19 March. The SJB, the JVP-led NPP, the TNA, the SLFP, the TPA, the SLMC, the ACMC, and the breakaway fractions of the SLPP, had jointly written to the EC, urging it to hold the LG elections on 19 March, in keeping with its undertaking given to Court, TNA Batticaloa District MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam told The Island.
The Opposition parties have also sought a meeting with the EC members at 9 am tomorrow (07).The TNA and the JVP, on Saturday, warned the government, and public officials, either to respect the Supreme Court order and help conduct the LG polls or to get ready to face legal action for contempt of court.
Addressing the media in Colombo on Saturday, TNA spokesman, Jaffna District MP MA Sumanthiran, said that they hoped the EC would fix a new date for the LG polls to be held before the legally mandated 19 March.
“There is no need for discussions with the Secretary to the Treasury or anyone else on this matter. The Election Commission has said it would meet the Treasury Secretary to fix a date for the elections. We see this as a ploy by the members of the Election Commission
to delay the polls further. We demand that the Election Commission meet immediately. During an elections period, every day is considered a working day for its members. They must meet immediately and fix a date before 20 March to conduct elections,” Sumanthiran said.
Addressing the media at the JVP Headquarters in Pelawatte, Attorney-at-Law Sunil Watagala on Saturday said that the EC was one of the respondents in the case and had to respect the court order. “If it cares for the people’s franchise, it should fix an early date for the elections. If any public official defies the Supreme Court order, he or she will be charged with contempt of court,” he said.
Watagala said that according to the Supreme Court order, President Ranil Wickremesinghe as the Finance Minister and the Cabinet had to release the Rs. 10 billion allocated for the local council polls from the 2023 Budget.
Watagala said the state officials including the Treasury Secretary, the Attorney General and IGP also had to abide by the Supreme Court interim order.The letter addressed to the Elections Commission was signed by MPs Prof GL Peiris, Vijitha Herath, Mano Ganeshan, Rishad Bathuideen, Ranjith Madduma Bandara, Rauf Hakim, Rasamanickam and Dayasiri Jayasekera.
The letter titled, ‘Urgent action and request for an urgent meeting’ says: “We write consequent to the order of the Supreme Court made on 3rd March 2023, in SC FR 69/2023 restraining the Minister of Finance, the Secretary to the Treasury and others from withholding necessary funds for the conduct of the Local Government Elections that was scheduled to be held on 9th March 2023. The Court has also made a further order to the Government Printer in respect to the printing of ballot papers.
“You gave an undertaking in SC Writ 6/2023 and SC Writ 7/2023 that you will hold the said elections according to law. You are aware that according to law, the said elections should be held on or before 19th 2023. When the Secretary to the Treasury and the Government Printer did not cooperate with you, you filed a Motion in the aforesaid two cases seeking court’s direction on them.
“Now that the Supreme Court has removed the only impediment to holding the elections according to law, it is your imperative duty to conduct the said elections on or before 19th March 2023. We do not see any reason why you should consult the Secretary to the Treasury or anyone else, now that they are bound to comply with the interim order issued by the Supreme Court as aforesaid.
“We therefore request you to re-fix the date of the Local Government Elections on a date before 20th March 2023 as required by law or the earliest possible date without any further delay. You should not prevaricate on the pretext of consultation with anyone.
In addition to the above we wish to meet with your Commission at 9.00 am on 07th March 2023 at the Elections Secretariat.”
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.
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.
SJB mayoral candidate for Colombo Municipal Council Mujibur Rahuman alleges that President Ranil Wickremeisnghe has violated election laws by appointing UNP’s mayoral candidate Rosy Senanayake as the Presidential Advisor on Local Government.
Participating in a talk show hosted by a private TV channel, Rahuman said that Senanayake was a candidate for the delayed local government polls. “She has submitted nominations for the Colombo Municipal Council from the UNP list. It is illegal to appoint a candidate to such a post pending an election. The local council polls have not yet been cancelled and cases pertaining to the holding of elections are in progress,” he said, adding that of all the posts the local government candidate had been given the post of Presidential Advisor on Local Governance.
“More than three months have lapsed since Senanayake stepped down from the Colombo Mayor post, but she is still occupying the Mayor’s Residence. The President says that he is implementing the system change demanded by people. The change he is actually doing is giving appointments to his cronies. Is it the change the people expected,” Rahuman queried.
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