The People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) has filed a fundamental rights petition in the Supreme Court seeking an order for authorities to hold the local government election. The Supreme Court has fixed the case for support on October 7.
Faiszer Musthapha
PAFFREL has filed the petition citing Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister Faiszer Musthapha, the Provincial Councils and Local Government Ministry Secretary, Elections Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya and nine others as the respondents.
In the petition, PAFFREL said that the Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister have continuously postponed the election which was to be held in 2015 and 2016. “By postponing the election, which allows Sri Lankan citizens to select their representatives to the local government institutions, the Minister has denied and restricted the sovereignty of the people of Sri Lanka,” PAFFREL said.
srinath.gunaratne / September 20, 2016
People call Mahinda a dictator, But he held elections at the right time!
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gamini / September 20, 2016
MR held elections alright, but manipulated every one of them misusing govt machinery 100% and propaganda on all media both private and govt to the hilt.
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sr / September 21, 2016
Gamini
It’s been a habit of every government since independence
MR learnt it from others and might have done better than others.
Appreciate PAFFREL demand for elections.
Government must listen to the request without coming out with excuses.
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sekara / September 20, 2016
The somewhat belated lawsuit will not make much of a difference.
By the time the legal process is finished, the G.G. regime would have had bought enough time to prepare for the elections.
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S.R.H. Hoole / September 21, 2016
I hope CT’s quoting of PAFFREL is wrong in saying “PAFFREL said that the Provincial Councils and Local Government Minister have continuously postponed the election which was to be held in 2015 and 2016.”
What of the elections due in 2013 and 2014? We would do well to remember that the Jaffna, Vavuniya, and Batticaloa elections, besides elections to other smaller predominantly Tamil local bodies, have been postponed from much earlier (2013 and 2014) by the same Ministry (with a different Minister presiding). These continue to be postponed.
If the quotation is correct, then PAFFREL seems not to think the denial of the right to choose local body representatives of those in predominantly Tamil electorates a matter of any importance. I see ignoring their rights and stressing on the postponement in predominantly Sinhalese electorates as a much bigger problem plaguing our country.
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