• EC confident of getting funds for Presidential Elections

There is no barrier to hold another election before the indefinitely postponed Local Government (LG) Elections, the Election Commission (EC) said yesterday (7).

However, in the event that the Presidential Election is held without holding the LG Elections, citizens may question as to how provisions that cannot be made for the latter elections would be made for the former, the EC’s Chairman opined.

While the LG Elections, which were scheduled to be held in March 2023, have been postponed indefinitely due to the Finance Ministry and Treasury not releasing the required funds, President and Finance, Economic Stabilisation, and National Policies Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe recently said that both Presidential and Parliamentary Elections would be held this year (2024).

The Daily Morning contacted EC Chairman R.M.A.L. Rathnayake on whether they could hold the presidential or any other election without holding the LG elections, and he said that there was no issue in holding the Presidential Election until the required funds are received for the LG elections. “The LG elections have been postponed as we have not received funds. If we receive it, we can hold it. However, the Presidential Election must be held this year. The necessary funds for it have been allocated through the budget. So we can hold it.”

The EC has requested funds for the said two elections separately, he said, adding that the Presidential or LG Elections would therefore be held upon the receipt of the funds. “In case the Presidential Election is held and LG Elections remain postponed, the people will question how funds can be released for one election and not for the other. That is a different story, but there is no legal barrier to holding any other election until funds for the LG elections are received.”

Rathnayake recently said that the Presidential Elections must be held before 16 October 2024, and expressed his confidence in receiving the relevant financial provisions.