No objection by ICC in delaying elections - SLC CA

The International Cricket Council (ICC) had not objected to the postponement of the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) elections by two weeks, SLC Competent Authority (CA) Chulananda Perera said yesterday.

A discrepancy between the Sinhala and English versions of a Gazette issued by former Sports Minister Faiszer Musthapha on September 22 last year, which outlined the formation of an advisory board to the Sports Minister to hear appeals regarding elections held under the Sports Law, had forced further delay.

While the English translation states that the advisory board is to be headed by a retired Supreme Court or Appeals Court Judge, the Sinhala translation has omitted the word ‘retired’, and the delay is to rectify this omission.

“We sought the Attorney General’s opinion, and were advised that the discrepancy should be fixed before elections are conducted, and therefore we have had to delay the elections by two weeks,” Perera said.

“We have kept the International Cricket Council (ICC) informed about every step we have taken and so far they have not objected.there is a risk that if we conduct the elections without making the necessary amendments to the Gazette, it will lead to further delays in the event a party challenges the Gazette in Courts,” Perera said.

The ICC had given SLC a February 9 deadline, by which time to appoint a fresh set of office bearers, and it seemed they were on course to honour that timeline when the elections were set for February 7 before this discrepancy led to a further two-week delay. (SMD)