Minister K.D. Lalkantha says public approval of the government is higher now than when it took office, and that provincial council elections should be held quickly once the obstacles are cleared.
Speaking to reporters on Wednesday, the minister said holding elections on schedule was a matter of government policy, Hiru News reported.
“Holding elections at the proper time is a policy of ours,” he said. “The obstacles relating to that must be removed and the provincial council election held soon.”
On support for the administration, he said: “The public approval we have now is greater than at the moment we came to power — because people can see we are going forward fulfilling our promises. It has to be judged against the promises we gave the people.”
The context he is speaking into
Provincial councils across Sri Lanka have been without elected members for years, run instead by governors appointed by the president, and successive governments have deferred a vote. The principal obstacle is the electoral system itself: parties remain divided over whether to go to the polls under the existing mixed system or wait for a reformed one, a disagreement that was still live on Tuesday.
Lalkantha’s comment does not say which of those obstacles he means, or who he thinks should remove them.
Not reported
The filing does not say where or at what event the remarks were made. It offers no polling, survey or other evidence for the claim about approval, and no timeframe for a provincial council election. It does not say which promises the minister considers fulfilled, and carries no opposition response.
Single source. Searches of the Daily Mirror, NewsFirst, EconomyNext, the Island, Daily FT and Colombo Gazette found no other outlet carrying these remarks. Ada Derana is blocked to this desk and Colombo Gazette is returning server errors.
The same minister also told public servants on Wednesday to cut their rice consumption by two-thirds, at a separate event.
