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LG and PC polls: Growing concerns over delays

25 Dec 2021

  • No decision yet on postponement of LG elections Cabinet paper
  • Govt. dragging its feet on PC Act amendment despite two-thirds majority: PAFFREL
By Maheesha Mudugamuwa   With predictions of further delays in holding Provincial Council (PC) and Local Government (LG) elections, election monitors have warned the Government to brace for dangerous consequences if it fails to respect the citizen’s right to exercise their franchise by holding elections on time. As of now, there is no decision on holding the already delayed PC elections, while a Cabinet proposal has been submitted regarding the LG election that is scheduled to be held next year. At present, all nine PCs are defunct as their terms of office have expired. The terms of office of the Southern and Western PCs ended in April 2019. The terms of office of the Sabaragamuwa and Eastern PCs ended in September 2017, while the term of office of the North Central PC ended in October 2017. The terms of the Central, North Western, and Northern PCs ended in September 2018, while the Uva PC’s term ended in September 2019. Likewise, the last LG poll was conducted on 10 February 2018, and the LG bodies were constituted on 20 March 2018. Therefore, the next round of elections would have to be conducted before 20 March 2022. In such a backdrop, it has been reported that a Cabinet proposal had been submitted seeking a postponement of the impending LG election by a year due to the prevailing Covid-19 situation in the country. When contacted by The Sunday Morning, Ministry of Public Services, Provincial Councils, and Local Government Secretary J.J. Ratnasiri confirmed that a Cabinet paper had been submitted seeking a postponement, but that there had been no decision by the Government as of yet. “We have submitted a Cabinet paper, but we are not yet informed whether it was passed by the Cabinet or not,” he said. In the meantime, when queried about the PC elections, Ratnasiri stressed that a decision should be taken by Parliament whether the election should be held under the previous Act or a new Act.  “We have not discussed the PC election as it is beyond the control of the Ministry. The Parliament should pass the law, and then only, a decision can be taken,” he explained.  As the debate continues whether the PC election should be held under the previous Act or the new Act, election monitors stressed that passing an Act in parliament for this Government couldn’t be a difficult task if it has the real interest, as it holds two-thirds majority at present.  Speaking to The Sunday Morning, People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi said: “The excuse the present Government is giving for the delay in the PC election cannot be accepted, as it has two-thirds majority in Parliament. Passing an Act is the simplest thing they could do if they really want to hold the election. Similarly, the excuse it has given for the postponing of LG election also cannot be accepted as they have held the Parliamentary Election during the worst time of the pandemic.” “If they really want to hold the election, they just have to adopt the similar procedure it adopted when holding the Parliamentary Election,” Hettiarachchi said. Elaborating further, the PAFFREL Executive Director said the Government should respect the fundamental rights of the citizens and therefore it should ensure that free and fair elections are being held on time. “We don’t have an election timetable, and that’s one of the major reasons why the Governments can postpone elections when the ground is not fit for the ruling party. At present, we urge the Government to respect democracy and hold the elections on time without postponing,” he stressed.  When asked about the negative aspects of delaying elections, Hettiarachchi explained that if the citizens were not allowed to express their opinions and choose the right candidates to govern them, the outcome would be dangerous. “We still don’t know what their response would be if they were not allowed to express their opinions. We have witnessed this in the 70s and 80s,” he added.  As per the provisions of the Provincial Councils Elections Act No. 2 of 1988, within one week of the dissolution of a PC, the Election Commission Chairman is required by law to publish a notice of his intention to hold an election to that council and this notice will specify the period during which nomination papers shall be received by the returning officer of each administrative district in the province for which elections are to be held. But with the introduction of the Provincial Councils Elections (Amendment) Act No. 17 of 2017, the entire system of PC elections has been changed as it made necessary to appoint a Delimitation Committee by the President within two weeks of the commencement of that Act and the Delimitation Committee has to fulfil its responsibilities within four months of its appointment and thereafter submit its report to the Minister.  The subsections 11, 12,13, 14, and 15 of section 4 of the Act stated that the Minister shall, within two weeks of the receipt of such report, table it in Parliament for its approval by a two-thirds majority of the whole number of Members of Parliament (including those not present) voting in its favour.  If Parliament does not approve the Delimitation Committee report in the manner prescribed in Act No. 17 of 2017, the Speaker has to appoint a Review Committee, consisting of five persons headed by the Prime Minister.  This Review Committee has to fulfil its responsibilities within two months of the Minister having referred the report for its consideration and thereafter submit its report to the President. Upon the receipt of the report of the Review Committee, the President shall, by Proclamation, forthwith publish the new number of electorates, the boundaries, names assigned to each electorate so created on the report submitted by the Review Committee.  However, the new PC elections Act was passed in Parliament on 20 September 2017 and the then President appointed a Delimitation Committee on 4 October 2017. The completed report of the Committee was submitted to the Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government on 19 February 2018 and was tabled in Parliament on 6 March 2018. It was taken up for debate on 24 August 2018 and referred to the Review Committee.

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