News
Presidential election will be held between 18 Sept. and 18 Oct. 2024
– Commissioner General of Elections
The presidential election is the only election that the Constitution has set a time frame for and therefore it cannot be postponed, Commissioner General of Elections, Saman Sri Ratnayake has said.
“The Election Commission has no direct authority over holding other elections. For example, the tenure of the local council is four years. The line minister can hold the elections a year before, or he can extend the tenure of councils by a year. The tenure of a Parliament is five years but the President can dissolve Parliament after two and a half years into its tenure. This is not the case with a presidential election.”
The Constitution says that the tenure of the presidency is five years and there are no provisions to extend the tenure, according to Ratnayake. “On 18 November 2019, Gotabaya Rajapaksa was sworn in as President. The Constitution stipulates that the next election should be held between 18 September and 18 October.”
The Commissioner General of Elections said that even if the President dissolved Parliament in the first week of September, they had the capability of holding both the general and presidential election on dates close to each other.
“The Constitution says that if the President dissolves the Parliament, he or she is bound to provide the necessary funding and other facilities. This year, we asked for 20 billion rupees, to hold the presidential and local or provincial council elections. We only got 10 billion but if the government decides to hold local or provincial council elections, the Treasury has to provide us with necessary funds,” he said.
Ratnayake said the estimates for 2024 elections were based on prices that prevailed in late 2023. He added that there are about 800,000 first time voters for an election held in 2024.
Commenting on campaign financing, he said that it was not a new concept for Sri Lanka and campaign expenditure by candidates had been limited by law until 1977.
“George E. de Silva lost his seat in Parliament, in 1948, following an election petition, filed by his opponent T.B. Illangaratne, found him guilty and deprived him of his civil rights. Illangaratne said Silva got his manifesto translated for a fee of 40 rupees but had not put that on his list of expenditure. K. M. P. Rajaratne was fined Rs. 100 in 1955 by the district court in Badulla for not submitting his election expenses. He also lost his seat. The system operated during the first past the post system,” he said.
This changed with the proportional representation system where the political party submitted the nomination of candidates, he said. Before this each candidate was responsible for handing over his or her own nominations, Ratnayake said.
A politician needed funds to run a campaign, he said. However, when there was no cap on expenditure money became the determining factor in winning elections, he said. During the 2018 local council election, a candidate had spent 40 million rupees for a ward with 1,800 votes in Maduraketiya, Moneragala, Ratnayake said. The candidate was returned but was unseated by the Monaragala High Court subsequently.
The Department of Education has announced that the results of the 2024 General Certificate of Education Advanced Level Examination have been released online, and can be viewed on : www.doenets.lk
Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya stated that the training of teachers required for the new education reforms will commence in May, and that contracts granted to political cronies in local government institutions will be brought to an end following the upcoming local government elections.
The Prime Minister made these remarks while addressing public gatherings held in the areas of Mirigama, Minuwangoda, and Katana in the Gampaha District.
Addressing the gatherings, Prime Minister stated:
“From birth to death, all the aspects of life of a person are handled by local government institutions. However, to this day, these institutions lack proper systems even to provide the people with basic facilities.
We are committed to working with a proper system, free of fraud and corruption, and managing every rupee carefully and attentively. We are identifying the needs of people and implementing projects under a systematic plan to develop rural sectors.
You elect fellow members who stand firmly against fraud and corruption through two decisive elections. First, you elect Anura Kumara as President, a leader committed to fighting corruption. Then, in the parliamentary election, you choose a group of qualified individuals who are equally dedicated to this cause to represent you in Parliament.
To ensure that the funds allocated for rural development reach the people, the local government institutions which are the closest to the villagers must also be clean and transparent. That is why this election is so important to us.
The people and the villages come to experience our corruption-free political culture through local government institutions. These institutions must properly implement, monitor, and evaluate the development projects allocated to the rural sector. The era of awarding contracts for such projects to political cronies must end.
Although early childhood development is a crucial part of education, there has never been a proper system for it. We are now establishing such a system. Starting in May, teacher training for the modern education which is being introduced will begin. We have a comprehensive plan for development across all sectors.
The Ministry of Education has received billions worth of projects, but there is no proper implementation process. For example, 1,500 smart boards were brought for smart classrooms, but the Secretary to the Ministry has not implemented a system to distribute them to schools. Teachers have not been trained to use them. Teacher training institutes still follow outdated curriculum. This will be corrected through the new education reforms,
In order to deliver all these benefits to the rural sector efficiently, it is essential to elect the right people for the right purposes. Therefore, in the upcoming local government elections, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya urged the public to vote for the candidates who are free from fraud and corruption presented by the National People’s Power (NPP).”
The event was attended by Parliament Chief Organizer of the ruling party Dharmapriya Wijesinghe, Members of Parliament Ruwanthilaka Jayakody and Chaminda Lalith Kumara, along with several local government candidates and the residents of the area.
[Prime Minister’s Media Division]
Foreign Minister Vijitha Herath will represent Sri Lanka at the funeral of Pope Francis in the Vatican City, the Ministry said.
The funeral is scheduled for today.
About 50,000 people came to pay their respects to the late Pope on Thursday, the Vatican news service said.
“Pope Francis’ funeral Mass will take place on Saturday, April 26, at 10:00 AM in St. Peter’s Square, marking the beginning of the Novemdiales, an ancient tradition of nine days of mourning and Masses for the repose of the late Pope’s soul,” according to the Vatican news service.
“The Novemdiales Masses will be held each day at 5:00 PM (GMT +2) in St. Peter’s Basilica, except for the Mass on Divine Mercy on Sunday, April 27, which will take place at 10:30 AM in St. Peter’s Square.”
Results of 2024 GCE Advanced Level examination released
Training teachers for the new education reforms will commence in May – PM
Sri Lanka, India and South Africa kick off World Cup preparations with ODI tri-series
-
News7 days agoFamily discovers rare species thought to be extinct for over a century in home garden
-
Features5 days agoRuGoesWild: Taking science into the wild — and into the hearts of Sri Lankans
-
News4 days agoOrders under the provisions of the Prevention of Corruptions Act No. 9 of 2023 for concurrence of parliament
-
Features6 days agoNew species of Bronzeback snake, discovered in Sri Lanka
-
News4 days agoProf. Rambukwella passes away
-
Features7 days agoThe ironies of history
-
News6 days agoPhoto of Sacred tooth relic: CID launches probe
-
Opinion5 days agoSri Lanka’s Foreign Policy amid Geopolitical Transformations: 1990-2024 – Part IX