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EC wants committee to fix electoral system

13 Jan 2021

By Ruwan Laknath Jayakody   The Election Commission (EC) has proposed the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) to address all pending election-related issues in the country, EC Member M.M. Mohamed confirmed to The Morning yesterday (12). Further, the EC will be submitting proposals containing legal amendments to the country’s electoral system, and to rectify issues pertaining to national list nominations to Parliament, to the committee of experts appointed to draft a new Constitution. These matters were among those that were discussed at a meeting held yesterday (12) between the EC and the polls monitoring bodies, including the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV), the People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections, the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), Transparency International Sri Lanka and the National Polls Observation Centre.  In addition to these matters, the conduct of the Provincial Councils (PCs) Elections, the electoral reforms process, the Bill to regulate campaign finance, and outdated electoral laws were also discussed. CMEV National Co-ordinator Manjula Gajanayake, who spoke to The Morning after the conclusion of the said meeting, said that the view that prevailed amongst all who attended this meeting concerning the holding of PC elections was that since PCs were established under the Constitution, they are to be considered very much part of the law of the land until such time the system is abolished in the law, and to therefore go ahead with the PC polls. The polls for PCs are yet to be held despite their terms lapsing, and they are presently under the administration of the Provincial Governors. Other necessary election reforms had also been discussed, and the elections monitors had pledged to support all endeavours on electoral reforms. “With regard to outdated laws, that the law needs to be changed to increase the deposits made by candidates when contesting polls, and to also increase the fines imposed for violations of the election laws pertaining to the conduct of propaganda campaigns, were discussed,” stated Gajanayake.  “Among the pending election-related issues discussed were the granting of the right to exercise their franchise to Sri Lankan citizens overseas, and the need to regulate campaign finance. The EC informed that they were registering political parties according to a proper methodology.” The need for comprehensive reforms to be made to the national laws governing elections and the electoral system has been proposed for quite some now, yet little has come to pass.


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