Election Commission officials have been summoned once more before the parliamentary special committee examining how Provincial Council elections should be conducted.
Commissioner General of Elections Rasika Peiris said the discussion is scheduled for August 20, NewsFirst reported. Further talks will cover the procedure under which the elections should be held.
What the committee is deciding
The special committee is chaired by Minister Vijitha Herath and was appointed to study which electoral system should be used for Provincial Council elections and to submit recommendations.
It has held discussions with several parties, including the Attorney General’s Department, which briefed members on the legal obstacles to holding the polls and how those might be removed. The Election Commission has appeared before the committee previously.
The delimitation deadlock
Sri Lanka’s nine Provincial Councils have stood without elected members since their terms began expiring in 2017. The 2017 Amendment No. 17 introduced a mixed first-past-the-post and proportional representation system, but it never came into force because the ward delimitation it required was never completed — the legal obstacle that has stalled the polls ever since.
The Attorney General’s Department has told the committee the 2017 amendment could be repealed, which would reinstate the original Provincial Councils Elections Act. Minister Herath has instructed the department to prepare a report on Supreme Court determinations relating to the amendment, the current legal obstacles and possible legislative remedies.
The commission has said in earlier appearances that it is ready to conduct the elections at any time under whatever legal provisions Parliament enacts — placing the timetable in Parliament’s hands rather than the commission’s. It has separately submitted four possible models for holding the vote.
The commission has also recommended that women’s representation in Provincial Councils be raised to at least 33%, a proposal the committee has taken up.
No date has been set for the committee to report its recommendations.
