The Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) has warned that more than a decade has passed since Provincial Council elections were last held in 2014, accusing successive governments — including the current administration — of failing to restore elected provincial governance.
In a statement issued on Monday, the civil society think tank said the prolonged absence of elected representatives has weakened devolved governance and undermined democratic rights. It argued that unresolved legal and procedural issues linked to the Provincial Councils Elections (Amendment) Act of 2017 — including disputes over the new electoral system and the boundary delimitation process — have repeatedly been used to justify postponements.
The CPA said the government had failed to prioritise the legislative and administrative measures needed to conduct the polls, despite an earlier pledge to hold them within a year of taking office.
The statement also took issue with recent comments by JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva on the timing of the elections, arguing that decisions of such significance should be communicated by constitutionally accountable ministers in Parliament rather than by party officials outside formal state structures. The CPA warned that continued postponements risk creating a “party-state dynamic,” in which authority operates through informal political channels instead of mandated institutions.
It noted that Provincial Councils are currently administered by centrally appointed governors, which it said contradicts the devolution framework established under the 13th Amendment. The CPA called on the government to resolve the legal ambiguities around the electoral system, set out a clear delimitation roadmap and publicly commit to holding the polls without further delay.
The intervention adds independent civil society pressure to a debate that has stalled in Parliament over legal hurdles, even as the Election Commission has been summoned before a parliamentary committee on the issue.
