MOHAN, RAVIN DISQUALIFIED
Advisory Committee finds their nominations in violation of Sports Law regulations
Former Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Vice President Mohan de Silva and former Assistant Secretary Ravin Wickramaratne were yesterday disqualified from contesting the upcoming SLC elections, with the Advisory Committee appointed by the Sports Minister to hear appeals upholding the objections made against their candidacy.
De Silva, despite also being nominated for the post of Vice President and Secretary, was primarily targeting the post of President, but his disqualification will likely mean that Shammi Silva will contest for that position against Jayantha Dharmadasa.
Wickramaratne was nominated for the position of Vice President, Assistant Secretary and Treasurer.
The committee was chaired by Retd. Supreme Court Judge Nimal Dissanayake and also included Retd. Supereme Court Judge Devika Tennekoon and Retd. Additional Director General of Sri Lanka Customs Dharmasena Kahandawa.
Both candidates had been cleared of objections raised to the Sri Lanka Cricket Elections Committee, but following further objections to the Minister’s Advisory Committee, de Silva and Wickramartne were found to have violated the Sports Law section 5(4)f, which disqualifies a candidate if “he has held office in the Committee of a National Association of Sports previously and has been found guilty of a financial misdemeanor, malpractice, corrupt practice, breach of discipline or any such offence by a Committee with competent jurisdiction appointed by such National Association of Sports, after due inquiry and such findings makes him unsuitable to hold office”.
The objection raised against de Silva and Wickramaratne is that they were part of a SLC Committee in 2005 that was dissolved by then Sports Minister Jeevan Kumaratunga for, among other reasons, causing a loss of more than US$ 3.2 million dollars due to ineffective and improper financial management. A media release undersigned by the Competent Authority of Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) Chulanada Perera, who is also the Secretary to the Sports Minister, stated that the advisory committee had found that according to the regulations applicable to sports associations under and in terms of the Sports Law No. 25 of 1973 (as amended) and in terms of the constitution of SLC and the Constitution of SLC, both candidates were found to be ineligible.
The ICC had previously given SLC a February 9 deadline by which to conduct the elections, but having discovered a discrepancy between the Sinhala and English versions of a 2018 gazette issued by former Sports Minister Faiszer Musthapha, the Minister’s legal team had advised him to postpone the elections by two weeks, to rectify the discrepancy and avoid a possible further delay.
The Advisory Committee had also heard objections against the nominations of Jayantha Dharmadasa, Shammi Silva, Bandula Dissanayake and Lalith Rambukwella, however they have been found eligible to contest the elections. Musthapha gazetted an amendment to the regulation, brought in in 2016 by Dayasiri Jayasekera, which introduced an advisory panel sitting in appeal.