The government intends to hold Provincial Council elections “as soon as possible,” Cabinet Spokesman Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa said on Tuesday, rejecting a claim by a government parliamentarian that the long-delayed polls would not be held at all.

Jayatissa was responding at the weekly Cabinet media briefing at the Department of Government Information to a question about remarks by MP Nilanthi Kottahachchi, who had said the elections would not take place.

“It is the government’s intention to hold the Provincial Council elections as early as possible,” the minister said. “If parliament provides the necessary legislation and completes the delimitation process within this year, funds have already been allocated, and we will conduct the election.”

He was explicit that the obstacle is legal rather than financial. “There is no intention to refrain from holding the Provincial Council elections. A parliamentary committee has been appointed, and the relevant process must be carried out through that committee. An election cannot be conducted without the necessary legal framework. Therefore, the required legislation must be passed by Parliament promptly.”

Two conditions, not one

The formulation sets a tighter test than the government’s earlier statements on the subject. In May, Jayatissa disputed JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva’s claim that funds were unavailable, saying then that money was allocated and only the legal framework stood in the way.

Tuesday’s answer attaches a second condition — completion of the delimitation process — and puts a deadline on both: they must be finished “within this year” for the election to follow. Neither has been completed.

Which committee is doing what

The parliamentary special committee examining how Provincial Council elections should be conducted is chaired by Minister Vijitha Herath. It has heard the Attorney General’s Department on the legal obstacles and recalled Election Commission officials this month for talks on August 20.

That is a separate track from the wider electoral reform effort. An Expert Panel reviewing the electoral system was given two months to report at a meeting in Parliament on Monday chaired by Minister Prof. A.H.M.H. Abeyaratne, and its remit expressly excludes matters relating to Provincial Council elections. The panel is working through 31 reform proposals submitted by the public and other organisations.

Provincial Councils have had no elected members since terms began expiring in 2017. The last island-wide PC poll was held in 2014.