Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya told Parliament on Wednesday that Provincial Council elections will be held only after a new electoral system is introduced, ruling out polling under the existing proportional representation framework.
Responding to a question from MP Ravi Karunanayake, the Prime Minister said there was no point in conducting elections without ensuring adequate representation for women and youth in the Provincial Councils, the Daily Mirror reported.
The statement is the most explicit ministerial confirmation to date that the National People’s Power government will not call provincial polls under current law, despite an earlier pledge that elections would be held within a year of taking office. Provincial Councils have been administered by centrally appointed governors since terms expired in 2014, and the last PC election was held more than a decade ago.
The position aligns Amarasuriya with JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva’s May 24 framing that polls would not be held before 2027, and follows criticism from the Centre for Policy Alternatives over the more-than-a-decade delay. Opposition figures including the SJB’s Lakshman Kiriella have pressed for elections under the existing system, while the Election Commission has previously told a parliamentary select committee it stands ready to conduct provincial polls once the legal framework is clear.
The Provincial Councils Elections (Amendment) Act of 2017 left unresolved disputes over the new electoral formula and a boundary delimitation process, which successive administrations have cited in postponing the vote. The government has not given a target date for tabling fresh legislation.
Source: Daily Mirror.
