The Parliamentary Select Committee reviewing Sri Lanka’s election laws has opened a public-consultation phase, inviting citizens, civil society organisations and other stakeholders to submit reform proposals by July 15, Newswire reported on Friday.
The Committee, chaired by Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government A.H.M.H. Abayaratne, comprises 11 Members of Parliament. Its mandate covers the Registration of Electors Act, the Local Authorities Elections Act, the Parliamentary Elections Act and the Presidential Elections Act, along with their amendments and special provisions. Provincial Council elections — which have been stalled for years over a separate set of legal hurdles — are explicitly excluded from this review’s scope.
The Committee is empowered to examine each statute for revision, consolidation and reform, with the stated aim of modernising and streamlining the electoral framework ahead of the Tenth Parliament. Proposals can be posted to the Secretary of the Committee, Parliament of Sri Lanka, Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, or emailed to [email protected].
The call for submissions marks the next step in a process that began on May 6, when Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne appointed the committee with 12 members from across the parties. The Committee held its first sitting on May 25, agreeing then to seek public views and broaden awareness of the review.
NDF MP Ravi Karunanayake, JVP-NPP members and SJB representatives are among the cross-party voices on the panel. The reform package is expected to draw close interest from civic groups, election monitors and academic constitutional lawyers given the recurring criticism of campaign-finance loopholes, voter-registration gaps and the conduct of local-authority and presidential polls in recent cycles.
