Elections Comm. calls on President to consult SC on elections
April 2, 2020 10:39 pm
The National Elections Commission has informed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to consult the Supreme Court on issues over holding the General Election.
The Election Commission had written to the Secretary to the President today (02) over the matter.
As per the Constitution, the new parliament should convene within 3 months of dissolving the parliament, said Chairman of the Commission Mahinda Deshapriya. Currently, a new parliament must convene before the 2nd of June, he added.
Thereby, the General Election should be held at least in the last week of May, he pointed out.
However, to hold the General Election by the end of May, the country has to return to normalcy by April 20 for the Commission to commence work, says Deshapriya.
The Election Commission needs a minimum of 5 weeks to hold a general election, he said.
Deshapriya said: “As this wouldn’t become a reality anytime soon, we wrote to the President’s Secretary calling the President to consult the Attorney General on the matter.”
Considering the current situation in the country due to COVID-19 outbreak, it is evident that the election cannot be held by the end of May.
Accordingly, we requested the President to consult the Supreme Court in order to resolve this constitutional crisis.”
