• EC Chair R.M.A.L. Rathnayake speaks about electoral preparations and related aspects ahead of the Presidential Poll  

Following the resignation of former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and the Cabinet of Ministers appointed by him in the face of massive public protests in 2022, many parties were of the opinion that the people should be given the opportunity to elect a new regime. The relevant legislation does not grant such an opportunity to the people, but, the term of current President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who was chosen by a Parliamentary vote to complete the remainder of the term of Rajapaksa, is scheduled to end in October of this year (2024). Almost every political party has revealed their plans on the same, and even declared their Presidential candidates. In response to some rumours that were being circulated about the Presidential Election, the Presidential Secretariat recently announced that the Election would be held at the relevant time, and that the related financial allocations have already been allocated. The utmost responsibility of holding the Election lies with the Election Commission (EC), and therefore, The Daily Morning contacted EC Chairman, R.M.A.L. Rathnayake to discuss some important matters pertaining to it.

Following are excerpts from the interview:

The Government has currently allocated Rs. 10 billion for the Presidential Election. Is it enough in the current economic situation?

This amount was estimated last year (2023). Currently, the prices of goods and services have increased significantly, but, we believe that we will be able to conduct the Election with this money while managing the expenses as much as possible. We hope to prepare a suitable programme for that.

At the time of the to be held Local Government (LG) Elections, problems arose due to the non-availability of the necessary provisions for institutions such as the Departments of Government Printing and Police. How will the EC avoid such situations?

Conducting a Presidential Election is a legal function mandated by the Constitution. Conducting it and providing the necessary facilities for it should be done in the manner prescribed by the Constitution. So, the Government will provide the necessary facilities to hold it.

There is talk that there are plans to extend the term of office of the current President until the constitutional reforms necessary to abolish the office of the Executive President are carried out. Is there such a possibility?

The Constitution clearly mentions what the tenure of the President is. Nowhere does it state that the President can remain in power until a constitutional amendment is made. Therefore, the Presidential Election should be held at the due time, which is by October of this year.

How will the Regulation of Election Expenditure Act, No. 3 of 2023 be implemented?

The Act is a new piece of Legislation for Sri Lanka. It was to be first implemented in relation to the LG elections, but, due to the postponement of the LG elections, only the initial phase of the Act could be implemented. Currently, the EC is discussing this Act and is taking the necessary measures for its effective implementation. In particular, we are working to prepare an effective system by discussing with the related institutions and other parties to whom this Act applies. So far, we have held two such discussions. We hope to discuss with political party secretaries and the heads of media organisations and to get their opinions for this within this month (February).

The Online Safety Act (OSA) is currently in force. How will online advertising and election related publications be regulated?

We are currently studying the methods adopted by other countries in the world regarding the regulation of online advertising and election related publications. We hope to make the relevant legal provisions linking it with the Regulation of Election Expenditure Act.

What measures will be taken to ensure voting access for foreign workers, dual citizens, prisoners, and the differently-abled?

A suitable programme has not yet been prepared regarding expanding the access for foreign workers to vote. In that regard, we have submitted our suggestions to the Presidential Commission of Inquiry (CoI) which is looking into electoral reforms. We are however taking steps to allow all the other marginalised sections of the population to cast their vote without hindrance. A sign language training programme has been started for the hearing impaired to cast their votes without hindrance. Election-related terms have been included in the sign language dictionary. We hope to assign officers trained in sign language to polling stations in future elections. We are currently preparing another special programme for visually impaired people. We launched a trial programme involving 50 visually impaired people representing the Districts of Kandy, Nuwara Eliya and Badulla. It was very successful. We hope to continue that programme. In addition, we hope to install facilities in polling stations according to the needs of all other marginalised communities.

Will new techniques or technologies be used to count votes?

We are studying the use of modern technologies for counting votes during future elections. Due to the current economic situation in the country and certain technical problems, a final decision has not been taken in this regard.

How is the support from the Executive and the Legislature to the EC, and are there any challenges in dealing with them?

There is no obstacle from them for us to carry out our work as a commission. There is no problematic situation, especially regarding the Presidential Election.

There is a lot of talk about electoral reforms. What has the EC done with regard to such?

The EC has been presenting proposals regarding electoral reforms for many years. We first submitted 42 proposals. Some of them, for example the Regulation of Election Expenditure Act, are already in place. The need to implement 15 more proposals has been identified so far. Apart from that, several other proposals are being discussed in the Cabinet. We have discussed with the recently appointed CoI on two occasions. We have submitted our proposals to them. They have expressed their willingness to discuss with us before making their final recommendations.

What has the EC done to improve voter literacy?

We implement various programmes to improve voter literacy every year. This year, we implemented programmes at the district level to inform children above the age of 16 about the voting system and how to register as a voter. We have instructed the relevant officials to organise programmes to increase voter literacy in a manner suitable for each community.

How is the voter registry preparation going on?

The preparation of the 2024 voter registry has already started. The work was supposed to start on 1 February, but, since this work needed to be completed earlier, we started work from 1 January. Currently, those activities are going on without interruption. We hope to finish the work by the end of July. Also, so far, we have registered voters only once a year. Then, the names of those who complete the age of 18 during the relevant interim period will be included in the voter's list of the following year. So, we have implemented a special programme. Through it, the names of persons who complete the age of 18 will be included in the voter registry as a supplementary list three times a year. With this programme, a large number of people will be able to vote when an election is announced suddenly. In addition to this, a waiting list has been prepared for inclusion in the voter registry of those who have reached the age of 16.

Some countries take measures such as charging fines from those who do not vote. Has attention been focused on implementing any such programme in Sri Lanka?

We have not yet paid attention to imposing any penalties. Some people think that casting a vote is useless. However, suffrage is a right given to the people by the Constitution. So, it is important to take advantage of that right. We cannot force anyone to go and vote, but, in order to protect democracy and fundamental rights, everyone should use this precious opportunity and elect desired and suitable people as public representatives.

How can the EC identify candidates with dual citizenship?

We are unable to make any decision regarding dual citizens at the time of calling for nominations. The reason is that dual citizenship is not among the reasons to reject a nomination. We have to consider only very limited technical matters at the time of accepting nominations. Issues such as public representatives holding dual citizenship should be resolved before a court.

Have the diplomatic officials shared any ideas with the EC on the Presidential Election?

In recent days, we met and discussed with several diplomatic officials. They discussed with us the programme we have in order to conduct the Presidential Election in a fair and independent manner.

Will there be any changes to the election observation process?

We are currently studying the performance of local election observation organisations. We hope to bring monitoring organisations and observers from other parts of the world if necessary.

Is there any action that the EC can take regarding politicians switching parties?

A politician switching parties is their personal decision. We are responsible for party registration and other matters, but, we cannot take any action regarding the transfer of party ownership or politicians switching parties. There should be new legislation to empower the EC to take action regarding such matters.