Science and Technology Minister Chrishantha Abeyasena said on Friday that Provincial Council elections will definitely be held within this year, the first cabinet-level commitment to a 2026 vote, although he could not name a date.
Speaking to reporters in Kandy on May 15, the minister told critics that the elections were not being delayed. “We had to face Ditwah,” he said, referring to the November 2025 cyclone that triggered widespread reconstruction and emergency relief obligations. “The Provincial Council elections will be held within this year. Do not worry. I cannot say exactly when. It is being handled by the relevant Ministry. We maintain a firm position that it will be held within this year.”
The remarks, reported by Ada Derana, are notable because Abeyasena holds the Science and Technology portfolio rather than the public security or internal administration brief that owns the election calendar — making his statement a political commitment rather than a formal date announcement.
Provincial Councils have been without elected representation since their terms expired in 2019. A parliamentary Select Committee was tasked earlier this year with resolving the legal and procedural hurdles around the 2017 demarcation amendment and the mixed-member proportional formula, but no bill has been tabled. Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Lakshman Kiriella has been one of the loudest voices demanding a hard timeline.
