• Voting rights of two district associations rejected

It has been revealed that the election of office bearers for the Netball Federation of Sri Lanka (NFSL) which was scheduled to be held at the Sports Ministry Auditorium today (30) has been postponed indefinitely, The Daily Morning Sports, understands.

The Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs had decided to delay the 2024 Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the game’s governing body, after the NFSL Election Committee had reportedly rejected the right to vote at the election by the Jaffna and Colombo District Associations.

It has been said that the two said district associations were ready to back the nomination of ex-NFSL President and former player Tamara Dharmakeerthi Herath, who was set to vie for the top chair against its incumbent Lakshmi Victoria.

Victoria was a former member of the Sri Lanka Netball Development Squad having been a past President of the local controlling body and she is currently attached to a prominent state bank as a Manager. 

The Election Committee of the NFSL had rejected the voting rights of the District Associations allegedly over the submission of incomplete documents, informed sources confirmed.

Meanwhile, the two district associations for their part had raised objections and lodged appeals to the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs over the revocation of their voting right and that this situation had forced the Ministry to defer the staging of the AGM indefinitely, sources added.

However, it has also been alleged that the voting rights of the Jaffna and Colombo District Associations had been rejected without having seriously considered the documents submitted by them. Already 32 district associations have been granted the right to cast their vote at the NFSL AGM.

The three-member NFSL Election Committee consists of Retired Judge Wimal Nambuhewa (Chairperson), C. Rathnamudali and Padmajina Siriwardhana.

In the meantime, Olivia Gamage who too had thrown her hat into the ring as an independent candidate has reportedly decided to opt out leaving Victoria and Dharmakeerthi Herath, to battle it out for the reins.

Efforts made by The Daily Morning Sports to contact the Director General of Sports of the Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs Prof. Rear Admiral Shemal Fernando to seek his views on the issue did not yield any positive result as he failed to respond.

(A Special Correspondent)