PAFFREL WRITES TO SPEAKER

it having been already included in the Parliamentary Agenda.

“What are the reasons for not appointing the committee that ought to have been appointed, in the event that the report had not been passed within a month? Is there a possibility of appointing this committee now and if so, how long will it take? Would it be possible to indicate a definite time frame within which the Provincial Council Election can be held?” Mr. Hettiarachchi asked Speaker Jayasuriya.

“This request is made to safeguard the people’s right to vote which is an inalienable element of the sovereignty of the people, as enshrined in the Constitution, and thereby defending their right to participate in the Provincial Council Administration.we firmly believe that you would make your necessary intervention in this regard and safeguard the people’s right to vote. In conclusion, The PAFFREL, as a responsible monitoring organization wishes to assure you our fullest cooperation and support in this endeavour,” he concluded. Speaker of the Parliament you are also responsible for this delay. Therefore, we kindly request you to draw your special attention on the factors outlined below and also to provide this information to us so that we may enlighten the public on this issue accordingly,” Mr. Hettiarachchi quoted, in his letter to the Speaker.

Highlighting the reasons for the unusual delay in holding of PC polls, he said the entire country was confused as to what had caused the delay in passing the report, despite

Executive Director of PAFFREL, Rohana Hettiarachchi told Daily Mirror that the government must take the full responsibility for the delay in PC polls and blamed the party leaders for the lapse.

“We were happy about the fixing of a time frame for implementation of the new election system and we also commended your intervention as the Speaker of the Parliament in this regard. However, it is a matter of regret that the Parliament, so far, has not been able to implement the Act that was passed by itself. There may have been certain political reasons which had caused the delay. But, it’s repercussions on the healthy existence of democracy can be rather serious as it may lead to undermine the sovereignty of the people, due to loss of faith in the legislature and its representatives.

We are of the view, that the leaders of all political parties including those of the ruling party and all members of Parliament must be held responsible for this situation. We would like to remind you that in your capacity as the

It is matter of regret that the Parliament, so far, has not been able to implement the Act that was passed by itself