Govt to introduce new draft Bill on elections

The government has decided to draft a new Bill, titled Elections (Special Provisions) Act, containing amendments made to several elections Acts and Ordinances.

The proposal tabled by President Ranil Wickremesinghe in this regard was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers on Monday (June 12).

Thereby, the new legislation will comprise the amendments to the Parliamentary Elections Act No. 01 of 1981, the Local Authorities Elections Ordinance, the Presidential Elections (Special Provisions) Act and the Provincial Councils Elections Act.

In December 2022, the Cabinet of Ministers gave the nod to amend the Parliamentary Elections Act No. 01 of 1981 in a bid to introduce necessary provisions to take legal action against contesting political parties, independence groups, or candidates who violate the code of conduct, and to set up special polling centres for recognized voters who are unable to arrive at their respective polling centres on the day of the election.

The Cabinet had also given the nod to amend the Local Authorities Elections Ordinance, the Presidential Elections (Special Provisions) Act, the Parliamentary Elections Act and the Provincial Councils Elections Act in order to introduce election guidelines for media institutions and to take legal actions in the event the guidelines are violated.

The government has thus decided to introduce a new draft Bill – Elections (Special Provisions) Act - which contains all the relevant amendments, instead of revising each Act and Ordinance mentioned above.