SLPP, ex-CMs to seek Supreme Court order on PC polls

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna will file a fundamental rights petition, calling on the Election Commission to hold provincial council election, SLPP parliamentarian Shehan Semasinghe said.

He told the Sunday Times that the party would seek an order from the Supreme Court that the PC elections be held without further delay.

The case was being filed on the premise that the delay was a violation of the people's fundamental rights and their right to franchise, the MP said, adding that Party Chairman G.L Peiris and senior member Dallas Alahapperuma were finalising matters pertaining to the case.

He said his party believed that conducting the PC polls according to the old system was much more feasible than the new system which was stuck in Parliament.

Mr. Semasinghe said the United National Party, the Tamil National Alliance, and the People’s Liberation Front (JVP), were acting against the Supreme Court's September 22, 2017 ruling, according to which any postponement of provincial council elections was a violation of fundamental rights.

Also moving the Supreme Court are two former chief ministers of councils, whose term ended last year.

“We will file our case seeking an order for the early conduct of the provincial council polls," the North Central Province's former Chief Minister S.M. Ranjith said.

He said Sabaragamuwa's former Chief Minister Maheepala Herath would be a co-petitioner.

Pointing out that the delay had a negative impact on the services provided to the people, Mr. Ranjith said problems such as the damage caused by the Sena (Fall Army) worm could have been resolved if the provincial councils were functioning.

Echoing similar sentiments was the NCP Council's former chairman, T.M.R Siripala.

“Several schools in our area do not have adequate teachers. Almost all the schools have some problem that needs to be resolved,” he said.

On Monday, rekindling the debate on the PC elections, Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said he would resign from his post if the provincial polls were not held before November 10.

President Maithripala Sirisena on Tuesday presented a proposal to the Cabinet, urging that the PC polls be held before the end of May. The proposal will be discussed during this Tuesday’s cabinet meeting.

The Elections Commission which had, since April 23 last year, written to political parties on the provincial council polls, has now announced that it is helpless if the Parliament does not resolve the deadlock.

“The laws are not ready to conduct the polls. If we are to follow the new system then the delimitation report must be passed in Parliament. If the previous proportional representation system is to be followed then the nullified clauses of the law must be revived,” Elections Commission member Ratnajeevan Hoole told the Sunday Times.

He added that the polls could be held within three months if the necessary laws were passed.

Polls chief Deshapriya said the Elections Commission could go to court only to seek an advisory opinion and not a verdict.

“Besides, the lawyer representing us should be the Attorney General. That would not happen if we file a case against the government,” he pointed out.

However, the Commission is of the unanimous view that the public and the political parties should go before court and file a fundamental rights petition in this regard.

Prof. Hoole commenting on on why he would not move the Supreme Court as a private citizen, said that his electoral division was in the north and therefore he had to go there to file the case.

Mr. Deshapriya also said he could not go before court since the Southern Provincial Council which belongs to his electorate had not completed its term yet.

The People’s Action For Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) has also decided to refrain from going to courts in this regard.

“Earlier, we filed a case calling for the local elections. The case dragged on for about 15 months,” PAFFREL Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi said.

He said that although he had faith in the judiciary, certain political elements might use the delay to their advantage.

At present, the onus is on Parliament and the Delimitation Review Committee to break the deadlock pertaining to the polls.

If the elections are to be held according to the old system, Parliament should pass an amendment to the Provincial Council Elections Act.

However, if the new system is to be followed, the delimitation review committee must submit its report to Parliament and pass it with a two-thirds majority.

The report should then be handed over to the President, following which he should issue a gazette notification.

However, the five-member committee headed by Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has not submitted its report as of yet. It was appointed to review the delimitation report after it was defeated in Parliament on August 8 last year.

R.M.A.L Ratnayake, Periyasamy Muthulingam, Balasundaram Pillai and Dr. A.S.M. Nawfal are the other members of the committee.

“We were about to submit the report when the government changed in October last year,” Mr. Ratnayake told the Sunday Times.

Commenting on the reason for the delay in submitting the report, he admitted that the report was not ready and the committee had not met since October 26.

As of today, the terms of six provincial councils have ended, with the Southern, Western, and Uva Provincial councils set to complete their terms by September.