PC Elections Act should be amended to hold PC polls soon – Dinesh

Minister of Foreign Affairs Dinesh Gunawardena says that Parliament approval needs to be sought before holding the Provincial Council election.

Addressing the media in Trincomalee, Minister Gunawardena said that the government was holding discussions on how and when to hold the elections.

“The previous government changed the laws governing the Provincial Council elections. The Supreme Court wanted changes to the proposed laws. We have to address these issues before holding the election.”

The Provincial Council polls could be held safely under strict health guidelines, election monitors yesterday told The Island.

National Coordinator of the Centre for Monitoring Election violence (CMEV), Manjula Gajanayake said that practices like physical distancing and wearing masks had become a part of people’s lives and the manner in which the general election had been held was a good template to follow as regards the future elections.

“We have experience in holding elections amidst COVID-19 pandemic. If proper systems are in place, we should be able to hold provincial council elections in a few months safely,” he said.

Executive Director of the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE), Manas Makeen said the public had to be educated on how to behave during an election as a matter of priority.

“At the August 2020 general election, the polling centres adhered to proper guidelines on election day. However, during the campaign there were many instances where there was no physical distancing. But since COVID-19 guidelines are gazetted, PHIs should be able to enforce the health regulations.”

In February, Election Commission Chief, Attorney-at-law Nimal Punchihewa told The Island that the government could easily prepare the ground for the Provincial Council polls by effecting a simple amendment to the Provincial Councils Act.

In response to our query, whether the EC was making preparations for PC polls in the wake of its five members meeting Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, Punchihewa said that as the Provincial Council Elections Act had been amended during the previous administration, polls couldn’t be held in the absence of a delimitation process.

Therefore, the polls couldn’t be conducted in terms of the new Act in the foreseeable future, the EC Chairman said. The only feasible strategy was to introduce an amendment to suspend the new Act pending the conclusion of polls in terms of the previous Act, he added.

Asked how fast the EC could move in case they secured the parliamentary approval as suggested by him, Punchihewa said that arrangements could be finalised within 10 to 12 weeks.