The forthcoming Local Government (LG) election is being held under questionable and controversial circumstances. On the one hand, this is the first election that comes after the people took to the streets in unprecedented numbers last year (2022) demanding a “system change” in Sri Lanka’s political and economic spheres. On the other hand, the organising of the LG election has been facing considerable legal and policy-related, ideological and practical challenges and disputes since the day the election was declared.

Adding to this list of challenges, recently, it was reported that three members of the Election Commission (EC), i.e. S.B. Divaratne, K.P.P. Pathirana, and M. M. Mohamed, had allegedly received death threats from an unidentified party/parties, asking the trio to resign from their posts. Investigations have been launched into these allegations, and EC Chairman Attorney Nimal G. Punchihewa has assured that this situation would not affect the EC’s election-related activities. Punchihewa has written to President Ranil Wickremesinghe requesting that the latter ensures an environment for free and fair elections in the country by intervening in the issue. 

This is in a context where the Government has, on many occasions, stressed that it does not interfere in the EC’s activities pertaining to elections and that it is prepared to extend its full support to the organising of the LG election and the EC in holding the LG election despite the challenges posed by the economic crisis.

Given the importance of the LG election at this juncture, where the people are expecting to use their voting rights for positive political changes, and also the challenging circumstances under which the LG election is being held, the importance of the Government taking its duty with regard to the LG election seriously cannot be stressed enough. However, it appears that the Government is yet to understand that its role and duties in facilitating the LG election are not limited to providing the necessary financial and other resources. Ensuring that there is a supportive environment in the country to hold the LG election involves removing the political, social, and other obstacles that the EC and the LG election are facing. 

The alleged death threats against three EC members are one of those challenges. It is a challenge that cannot be ignored or underestimated because a threat against members of the main election-related State body is essentially a threat to that body’s functions, which, at the moment, has a great deal to do with the conducting of the LG election. The Police have said that one EC member has received a threatening message via WhatsApp and that the said investigations could be delayed, as there are international legal requirements that need to be met in order to obtain information from the relevant foreign organisations.

This widens the scope of the Government’s duties with regard to creating the type of environment that Punchihewa has requested from the President. While supporting the EC’s LG election-related activities, the Government should take necessary steps to ensure that the investigations into the alleged death threats receive adequate support. However, these actions should not only be effective but also swift, because the LG election is scheduled to be held in a little over a month. Leaving these alleged death threats unaddressed or delaying the necessary steps to support the investigations would leave a black mark on the LG election, the election results, and also on the Government.