COLOMBO – Sri Lanka’s main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) may go to courts against any decision to postpone local government elections that are due, the party’s Research and Development Secretary, Eran Wickramaratne, said.
SJB at its annual party conference on Sunday (11) renewed its calls for elections while formally adopting a resolution to demand a local government election, with party leader Sajith Premadasa expressing confidence that his party is ready for a litmus test.
Wickramaratne said the party has already taken a decision to initiate court action against any effort to postpone local elections.
“Since recent history, politicians are making various excuses to postpone the elections,” Wickramaratne told reporters at a media briefing on Monday (12), referring to a case from 2014 as an example.
Wickramaratne explained that according to the Constitution, a government cannot postpone any election under any circumstance, noting that any changes in law must be done before the election, or after the end of elections.
Minister of Justice, Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe , claimed no decision has been taken to postpone the local government elections which had already been postponed by one year in February last year, but said that “some necessary amendments or the adjustments”, would be done.
Opposition and political activists in Sri Lanka are pushing President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s government for both local government and parliament polls in the first quarter of 2023.
The local government elections that were postponed by one year in February last year should be held by 20 February 2023. President Wickremesinghe has the discretion to dissolve parliament any time after February next year.
“They are giving various excuses. They say there is an economic issue in the country. Why don’t we take environmental issues as well then?” Wickramaratne asked.
“And also they say that the elections will cost around 10 billion rupees. What is that when compared to the loss they made due to the sugar scam last year. These are only excuses they make to post postpone the elections,” he said, adding that the SJB has called for a meeting with the President Wickremesinghe on Tuesday (13).
-economynext.com
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