Govt. willing to discuss LG polls under PR system with Opposition

The Government is willing to discuss with Opposition political parties, the possibility of holding the next Local Government (LG) elections under the Proportional Representation (PR) electoral system, Parliament was told yesterday.

“If the Joint Opposition (JO) and the JVP are agreeable to holding the elections under the old system, the Government is willing to discuss it,” said Leader of the House Minister Lakshman Kiriella.

The JO, the JVP as well as the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) voiced their consent to holding LG elections under the PR sys- tem. “For just this one time, I suggest the election be held under the PR system," said Chief Opposition Whip- JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayaka.

He won support for the call from SLMC LeaderMinister of City Planning and Water Supply, Rauff Hakeem, as well as several members of the JO, including MPs Dinesh Gunawardena and Dulles Allahaperuma who spoke in Parliament when the Committee Stage debate on the Ministry of Local Government and Provincial Councils was discussed.

The JVP MP said the Government is postponing the LG elections until it sorts out the internal problems it has within its national unity government. “The new electoral system can be included in the new Constitution, but for this one time, the LG should be held under the PR system, he said.

The amended LG elections laws were approved by Parliament in 2010, to enable future elections to be held under a new electoral system which is a mix of the PR system and the Westminster (First-Pastthe-Post) system.

However, confusion and delays in the demarcation of wards has led to the postponement of the polls which are overdue by over two years.