- 9 PCs remain without elected members
- 2018 delimitation report rejected after failing 2/3 vote
- Last PC Elections held in Sept. 2014
The newly appointed National Delimitation Commission is exploring the possibility of reactivating the stalled delimitation review process through the appointment of a new Review Committee, in a bid to resolve the long-running deadlock over Provincial Council (PC) Elections without returning to the previous electoral system, as reliably learnt by The Sunday Morning.
The move is among several options being considered by the commission to find a way forward within the existing legal framework introduced under the Provincial Councils Elections (Amendment) Act No.17 of 2017, which replaced the former Proportional Representation (PR) system with a mixed electoral model combining ward-based and proportional representation.
Sources familiar with the discussions said the focus was on reviving the review mechanism rather than abandoning the reforms. A reconstituted Review Committee could be tasked with examining the earlier delimitation proposals, addressing objections raised by political parties, and seeking consensus on the creation of new wards and electorates.
The delimitation issue has remained unresolved since 2018, after the five-member Delimitation Committee appointed to implement the new electoral system submitted its report, which was presented to Parliament on 6 March that year. However, the report failed to secure the required two-thirds majority in Parliament when it was put to a vote in August 2018, effectively halting the process.
A Review Committee chaired by the Prime Minister was subsequently appointed to reconsider the proposals, but it too failed to reach agreement among political parties, leaving the issue unresolved and contributing to the continued postponement of PC Elections.
Sri Lanka has now gone without PC Elections for several years, with all nine PCs functioning without elected representatives after their terms expired. The last PC Election was held in September 2014 for the Uva Provincial Council, while other councils gradually lost their elected administrations between 2015 and 2019.
The delay in holding elections has been closely linked to the 2017 electoral reforms, which sought to introduce a mixed system where 50% of councillors would be elected from newly created wards under the first-past-the-post system, while the remaining 50% would continue to be elected through PR.
Meanwhile, newly appointed National Delimitation Commission Chairman Saman Sri Ratnayake said that the commission’s role would extend beyond election-related boundary demarcation, stressing that delimitation was a key component of representative democracy.
“This is entirely a technical subject. In a democratic country where elections are conducted, delimitation is an extremely important matter. The reason is that when representative democracy is in operation, it is important to determine the boundaries within which representatives are elected,” Ratnayake said.
He added that the commission hoped to provide leadership for delimitation activities across other service-providing institutions in addition to electoral matters.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recently appointed the new National Delimitation Commission, chaired by former Commissioner General of Elections Ratnayake. The other members are Dr. K. Thavalingam and former Secretary of the Agriculture Ministry Rohana Pushpakumara.