No Election, No Funds, Local Government Election not legally declared – Sri Lanka President

Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe told Parliament today (February 23) that the National Election Commission has not legally declared an Election, therefore there is no question of a postponement and also there are no funds to conduct an election.

“An election has not been declared legally as there has not been a quorum when the election commission members decided on the date.

“There have been only two members present when the decision has been made on the date while the two members present had decided on the date and then inquired the view of the remaining members who were not present.

The quorum of the election commission meeting is three legally therefore no official declaration of the local government elections legally,” the President said.

“The Election Commission had gone to court and said that it cannot conduct an election. However, an affidavit was provided. It states that the Commission has been informed by the Secretary of the Treasury that he is unable to provide the necessary funds to conduct the election. That is false.

On the 14th of December I informed the members of the Election Commission of the country’s economic situation, the fact that we do not have the necessary funds to conduct the election, and the fact that it would have a negative impact on the economy, and to conduct the election after the number of members is cut down to 5,000.

I felt it was my duty to inform them because it is a caretaker commission, and not a normal commission. It is a temporary commission,” elaborated the President.

“Also the funds for the local polls have not been requested from the Election Commission. The request letter has been signed by the accountant at the Elections Department.”