The Court of Appeal has ordered the relevant Returning Officers to re-accept nearly 37 rejected nomination papers submitted by candidates to contest for several Local Government (LG) institutions across the island.

This order was issued by the two-member Appeals Court bench comprising the Acting President of the Court of Appeal Justice Mohammed Thahir Laffar and Justice K.P. Fernando after considering writ petitions filed by several political parties and independent groups challenging the rejection of their nomination papers submitted to contest the upcoming LG Polls.

Nearly 37 writ petitions were filed in the Court of Appeal by parties including the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA), ‘Sarvajana Balaya’ alliance, and several independent groups, challenging the rejection of nomination papers for multiple local government bodies, including the Colombo Municipal Council.

Accordingly, the court ordered the Returning Officers to halt the election process-related activities of the Colombo Municipal Council and several other local government bodies until today, pending a final decision related to the petitions.

Earlier during the proceedings, the Court of Appeal directed the Election Commission to accept 2025 Local Government Election nominations from candidates who have submitted original birth certificates after an agreement was reached before the court to accept nominations that included original birth certificates from among the previously rejected submissions.