A seat in Parliament has fallen vacant following the resignation of Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) National List MP M.S. Abdul Wahid, the Daily Mirror reported on Monday.

Acting Secretary General of Parliament Hansa Abeyratne informed the Chairman of the Election Commission in writing that Abdul Wahid had submitted his resignation as a Member of Parliament.

The resignation takes effect from September 14, 2026.

The Election Commission was notified of the vacancy under Section 64(5) of the Parliamentary Elections Act No. 1 of 1981 — the provision governing how a vacancy arising from a resignation is reported and filled.

How the seat will be filled

Because Abdul Wahid held a National List seat rather than a district seat, no by-election follows. National List vacancies are filled by nomination from the party that holds the seat, so the SLMC is entitled to name a replacement.

Ada Derana, reporting the same resignation, described the vacancy as arising in the Tenth Parliament and said the Election Commission would now take the necessary steps under the relevant law to fill the seat. That account could not be read directly — Ada Derana’s site returned a CloudFront error — and it is noted here as background rather than cited as a source.

Not reported

Neither report gives a reason for the resignation. The Daily Mirror does not say whether Abdul Wahid is leaving politics, moving to another party or role, or resigning over a disagreement, and carries no statement from him, from SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem, or from the party. It does not say how long he had served, when the SLMC expects to nominate a successor, or who is likely to be named.

The SLMC last featured prominently when a party petition to the Supreme Court was dismissed in May.

Update (September 15): the Election Commission moves

The Election Commission will write to the Secretary of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress today asking the party to nominate a suitable National List MP to fill the vacancy, NewsFirst reported on Tuesday morning.

Commission Chairman R.M.A.L. Rathnayake said the letter from the Acting Secretary-General of Parliament notifying the vacancy was received on Monday afternoon, and confirmed that Abdul Wahid’s resignation takes effect from Monday.

That answers the timing question left open above — the Commission has moved within a day of being notified — but the substantive gaps remain. Neither report gives a reason for the resignation, and NewsFirst carries no statement from Abdul Wahid, from SLMC leader Rauff Hakeem, or from the party. No deadline is stated for the SLMC to submit a name, and no likely successor is identified.

Note also that NewsFirst spells the outgoing member’s name Waheed where the Daily Mirror has Wahid.