‘Instead, quorum should have been reduced’

Increasing the number of election commissioners irrational decision – CMEV

by PRIYAN DE SILVA

The National Coordinator of the Center for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) Manjula Gajanayake said that increasing the number of the Election Commission members from three to five was an irrational decision.

Gajanayake said that elections in the country had been managed by a single person for 60 years before the EC was appointed in 2015. “It

would have been better to reduce the required quorum of the EC to two out of the three members rather than increase the number of members” he added.

The 20th Amendment to the Constitution says: “There shall be an Election Commission consisting of five members appointed by the President subject to the provisions of Article 41A from amongst persons who have distinguished themselves in any profession or in the field of administration or education. One of the members so appointed shall be a retired officer of the Department of Elections or Election Commission, who has held office as a Deputy Commissioner of Elections or above. The President shall appoint one member as its Chairman”.

Welcoming the decision to appoint a ‘Parliamentary Council’ to replace the Constitutional Council Gajanayake said that it has not been vested with sufficient powers.

“Now at least one of the six persons (five members of the Commission and the Commissioner-General) would have past experience in conducting elections” he quipped.