The National Election Commission has submitted a report to the Parliamentary Select Committee studying Provincial Council elections, recommending four possible electoral models the committee could consider when restoring the long-delayed polls, Chairman R.M.A.L. Rathnayake said.
The four models are: holding elections under the previously implemented PC electoral system; holding elections under that same system with new provisions to enhance women’s and youth representation; implementing the PC electoral system that was previously halted in Parliament because of disputes over constituency delimitation; and conducting elections under an entirely new system formulated on the basis of updated delimitation reports. The report also includes Commission estimates of the time required to call nominations and run election proceedings under each model, NewsFirst reported.
The Election Commission’s role under the Constitution is administrative — Parliament must decide which model to adopt before the Commission can issue a date — but the formal submission moves a long-standing political deadlock into a concrete legislative choice with four named options. Provincial councils have not been elected since 2017 in the first instance and the constitutional impasse over delimitation has been the main legal obstacle.
The select committee submission lands a week after Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya signalled that the government wants electoral reform to precede a poll, and follows the Election Commission’s May appearance before the parliamentary committee where it confirmed it was procedurally ready to hold the elections once a system was chosen. PAFFREL had earlier said there was broad cross-party agreement at the committee on running the polls, while opposition voices including the SJB have argued that funds are available and the elections should be called within the year.
Source: Four Electoral Models Under Review for Provincial Council Elections — NewsFirst, June 17.
