The National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ) stated that the National People’s Power (NPP) Government must address the issues preventing the Provincial Council (PC) Elections from being held as soon as possible, if it is to fulfil its election promises.
In a statement, which was shared with The Daily Morning, NMSJ General Secretary, Sunil Jayasekara said that at a time when all other representative institutions of the State are functioning, continuing to keep the PCs under the sole control of the Executive is not only a violation of the Constitution, but also a denial of the people’s sovereign right to elect public representatives: “The last PC Elections were held in 2014. Since 2018, there has been no public representation in any of the PCs. Instead, they are being run by Provincial Governors appointed by the President, turning them into bureaucratic institutions. This is an undemocratic and unacceptable state of affairs. According to the policy proposals presented by the NPP before coming into office, elections for all PCs should be completed within the next four months. If that promise is to be kept, the Government must act now to address the issues that are preventing these elections from being held.”
Although it is important to consider the criticisms and shortcomings of the current PCs system as highlighted by various parties, he said that it should not be used as an excuse to postpone elections. “Three Parliamentarians have already submitted separate proposals to address these issues. If necessary, the President has the power to appoint a special commission to review the system and make recommendations. However, none of these processes should delay the people’s right to elect their representatives.”
On an earlier occasion, the Deputy Minister of PCs and Local Governance Ruwan Senarath told The Daily Morning that the Government planned to begin the legal reform process for the PC Elections once the Local Government (LG) Elections were concluded. However, the LG Elections were held on 6 May of this year, and there is no apparent preparation as of now to hold the PC Elections or make the necessary legal changes.
The PCs are the devolved governing bodies of the nine Provinces. In accordance with the Constitution, they have legislative power over a variety of matters including agriculture, education, health, housing, LG, planning, public transport, and social services. The PC Elections have been postponed for a long time due to a legal issue which arose as a result of a legal amendment that the United National Front-led Government from 2015 to 2020 attempted to bring in.