TISL condemns bid to revive lapsed LG bodies

The Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) yesterday condemned the anti-democratic private member’s bills presented to Parliament by SLPP MP Jayantha Ketagoda to re-convene the dissolved Local Government Authorities (LGAs) without holding elections.

Issuing a statement it said: TISL believes that this move would be a heavy blow to the people’s sovereignty enshrined in the Constitution.Local Government Members are the grassroots level public representatives. Regular elections are essential for the people’s mandate to be reflected in the LGAs. In addition, this Amendment sets a bad

precedent as it creates a risk of abusing the legal framework to prevent holding timely elections, including national elections. This can lead to the people losing faith in the entire democratic system in the country, with negative implications to the rule of law as well.Therefore, TISL emphasizes that any attempt to pass this Amendment must be roundly defeated. TISL calls on all citizens to stand up for their voting rights, by opposing this move.