Govt. has put independent commissions in legal straitjacket, says PAFFREL

By Rathindra Kuruwita

The government has prevented the independent commissions from retaining independent lawyers, Rohana Hettiarachchi, Executive Director of People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) says.That would diminish these commissions’ ability to take any action that went against the desires of the governments, Hettiarachchi said.

” The Elections Commission is now represented by Saliya Peiris, PC. Now all commissions will have to depend on the Attorney General’s Department,” he said.

“If the local council election is postponed by several months, it is likely that the government will try to change the electoral laws and postpone the polls further. Nominations that have already been submitted will become null and void in such an eventuality. The government has already appointed a delimitation commission and this can be used to delay elections, too. The Elections Commission only needs only Rs. 1.1 billion rupees for the election. The government really has no reason to say it has no money,” he said.