EC rejects applications of 40 parties

Among the 156 applications for the registration of political parties, at least 40 were rejected this week at the initial preliminary level conducted after three years, Election Commission sources said.

They were rejected due to documentation errors and failing to meet basic criteria, the sources said.

Already 70 political parties are on the list of recognised parties.

Since 2017, the Election Commission has refused to accept new applications to register new political parties citing pending elections. In January, the Commission began to accept fresh applications by issuing a gazette notification detailing the criteria for the registration process.

The Election Commission's Acting Director Channa de Silva told the Sunday Times the Commission conducted interviews this week with officials of parties seeking registration.

“The applicants have to submit documents to establish their active politics over the last four years along with audit records. As of now, we have completed the interviewing process of some 50 applications. We expect to complete the

Continued from Page 1 process by the first week of next month,” Mr de Silva said. To register a new political party, its secretary has to submit a comprehensive set of documents including a copy of the party constitution, statements of audited accounts and a policy declaration in addition to reports to prove that the party has been politically active continuously.