The Supreme Court says that the decision on the petition filed against the rejection of the nomination list of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) for the Maharagama Urban Council, will be delivered tomorrow (19). 

Seven SLPP candidates filed a writ petition before the Supreme Court against the rejection of the party’s nomination list for the Maharagama Urban Council on December 22, 2017. 

The Chairman of the Elections Commission, its members, the Maharagama Returning Officer and the secretaries of the JVP, UNP and SLFP have been named as respondents in the case. 

The petitioners say that although the nomination list was rejected one the grounds that the gender of one of the female candidates was listed as male, the Returning Officer had the opportunity to study the matter and take a decision. 

The petition claims that the rejection of the nomination list has resulted in a serious injustice and therefore requests the Supreme Court to issue an order to the Elections Commission to accept the rejected nomination list. 

The petition also requested the court to issue a stay order preventing the election for the Maharama Urban Council from being held until a verdict is delivered on the petition. 

The nomination lists of the Podujana Peramuna, which is contesting the election under the “flower bud” symbol, for several Local Government bodies including the Maharagama UC were rejected on December 14.

Five candidates from the Sri Lanka Podu Jana Peramuna had also filed a petition before the Court of Appeal against the rejection of the nomination list for the Maharagama Urban Council.