• Ethicality of Govt. Printer withholding printed ballot papers questioned

Noting that there is a problem as to how far it is ethical for the Government Printing Department to withhold the ballot papers related to 17 districts which have already been printed, the Election Commission (EC) stated that if those ballot papers are provided, the postal voting pertaining to the Local Government (LG) election can be held in the relevant districts.

Speaking to The Daily Morning yesterday (22), EC Chairman, Attorney Nimal G. Punchihewa said: “The Department has printed ballot papers related to 17 districts. It was more than a month ago that we requested from the Government Printer Gangani Liyanage that those ballot papers be given to us. However, we are yet to receive them and I do not know how far it is ethical for them to withhold them. If those ballot papers are released, postal voting can be held at least in those 17 districts.”

When queried as to whether the existing legal provisions allow for the postal voting to be held in only 17 districts, he said that there is no legal barrier to doing so. “Postal voting can be held in a few districts, and then in the rest.”

He also commented on the EC not having received the ballot papers for the postal voting on Tuesday (21), the date on which they expected to receive them. “We were expecting to receive them by Tuesday, but it did not happen. If we receive them even within the course of these two days (today [22] and tomorrow [23]), we can hold the LG elections as scheduled. If it does not happen, we will have to discuss and decide on the next course of action that we will have to take.”

In response to a query by The Daily Morning as to whether the EC would seek a meeting with Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies Minister and President Ranil Wickremesinghe to discuss the current situation with regard to the release of funds for the LG Elections, Punchihewa said that the requests made by the EC to the Secretary to the Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies Ministry and Treasury Mahinda Siriwardana have already been forwarded to Wickremesinghe. 

“Our requests have already reached Wickremesinghe. If the Ministry and the general Treasury can declare a time by which they can release the funds for the LG elections, we can make the necessary decisions accordingly, but it is not happening. All that the Ministry and Siriwardana say is that our requests have been forwarded to the Minister. What I can say is that we, as the EC, are committed to holding the elections as soon as the funds are released. If it does not happen, it is up to the political parties and civil organisations to carry this struggle forward,” he added.

Speaking to The Daily Morning last week, Liyanage said that the EC has been requesting her to release the postal ballot papers for 17 districts which have already been printed, but that she could not release them just because the printing work is done. 

“They should be checked and the relevant payments should be made to us by the Ministry and the Treasury. What if we would not receive the payments in case I release the ballot papers to the EC?,” she queried, adding that it is questionable as to whether the release of ballot papers only for 17 districts would be of use to the EC as it is not possible to hold the postal voting in only 17 districts.