by Buddhika Samaraweera in The Morning, June 1, 2023
President and Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies Ranil Wickremesinghe, according to the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), has hinted on holding elections soon, although there is no clarity as to what election it would be.
A group of representatives of the SLPP met the President at the Presidential Secretariat on Monday (29) for a special discussion.
The Daily Morning queried SLPP General Secretary and Parliamentarian, Attorney Sagara Kariyawasam as to whether there was any discussion about the upcoming elections during the meeting, to which he said that Wickremesinghe had hinted that an election would be held soon. “Wickremesinghe did not say anything about an election in particular, but an idea that an election will be held soon came from him. There is no clarity about whether it will be the Local Government (LG) Elections, the Presidential Election, or the Parliamentary Election.”
An election in the near future is hinted at in this manner in a backdrop where the 2023 LG Election is continuously being postponed due to the Election Commission (EC) not receiving the necessary financial allocations.
Although President Wickremesinghe served as the Finance Minister, he, and several other Government representatives, recently said that it was difficult for the general Treasury to allocate the necessary funds for the holding of the LG Elections in the current economic situation of the country.
One of the much talked-about Elections, the LG Elections of 2023 was initially scheduled to be held on 9 March, but the Treasury had not released the required funds to the EC. The EC then rescheduled the LG Elections to 25 April, and the postal voting to 28, 29, 30 and 31 March and 3 April, but the required funds were still not released. Against this backdrop, the EC, in early April, postponed the LG Elections for the second time with no new dates being scheduled.
https://www.themorning.lk/articles/ktRRIWmkLThX8vouNuMs
