The Election Commission (EC) is yet to receive a response from the Ministry of Finance with regard to their request for Rs. 770 million as Local Government (LG) election expenditure for the month of February, its Chairman Attorney Nimal G. Punchihewa stated yesterday (9).
He further told The Daily Morning yesterday: “We have sent the letter to the Finance Ministry but there was no response from them.”
He further said that the EC would submit all relevant documents pertaining to the LG poll preparations to the Supreme Court (SC) today (10), when the fundamental rights petitions filed by various parties both for and against the poll are to be taken up for hearing. “One petition was filed requesting that the election be held and the other to postpone it. We are doing our work and it is our statutory duty. Let the court decide,” he added.
“We first asked for some payment, which they provided in tranches. Not the full amount. We requested some Rs. 37 million,” he stated previously.
Meanwhile, the EC, in a media release, stated that any person unable to travel to a polling station on foot or by a service provided by the Sri Lanka Transport Board, a regional Transport Board, the Railways, or any public transport on account of a physical disability may apply in writing under the LG Elections Act or through any other person on his/her behalf, who is not a candidate, to the returning officer of the district to retain the services of a vehicle for the purpose of travel.
The application for this facility should be sent to reach the returning officer within seven days before the date of the poll, i.e. 2 March. If the returning officer is satisfied, he/she will issue a permit that will enable the individual to use a special transport facility. If the application is accompanied by a medical certificate obtained from a registered medical practitioner (Western or indigenous), confirming that the applicant is unable to travel by foot or public transport to the polling station, it will enable the returning officer to take the required decision regarding the voter.