Local Govt election postponed for second time

The Election Commission says, for the second time, it is compelled to postpone the 2023 Local Government polls, scheduled to be held on April 25.

In a special media release published today (April 11), Commissioner-General of Elections Saman Sri Ratnayake said the decision was reached due to reasons beyond the control of the election body and the inadequacy of funds to go ahead with the preparations for the Local Government polls.

Thereby, the Returning Officers, after seeking the consultation of the election body, are expected to decide on a date for the polls, based either on the availability of funds or the court order pertaining to the matter.

Ratnayake, in the press release, assured that the Election Commission would continue to take all necessary measures, as it has done thus far, to hold the Local Government polls at the earliest possible.

Following the 2018 Local Government polls, which saw the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) securing a majority of the seats, the next election was originally scheduled to be held last year.

However, the local elections were deferred indefinitely due to the exacerbated economic situation and the political instability in the country, while the term of office of local government bodies was extended for a period of one year.

Eventually, the election was planned to be held on March 09, and the Printing Department and the Election Commission made repeated requests from the Treasury, seeking funds to prepare for the Local Govt polls. However, printing of ballot papers stalled without sufficient funds.

Accordingly, the election was put off to April 25 only to be deferred once again.

Against this backdrop, the Supreme Court, on March 03, issued an interim order, preventing the Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana from withholding budgetary allocations made for the Local Govt election.

Later, several government MPs including Premnath C. Dolawatte alleged that the Supreme Court’s interim order on the Local Government elections is a breach of parliamentary privileges. However, the move attracted widespread criticism, with many deeming it an attempt to postpone the election on the part of the government.

Meanwhile, the term of office of 340 out of the 341 local government bodies, which was extended by one year, expired at midnight on March 19.

After the tenure of the local government bodies expires, the authority of 29 municipal councils will be transferred to the municipal commissioners, while the authority of the 36 municipal councils and the 275 local councils is transferred to the secretaries of relevant institutions.