Sri Lanka: Crisis on democracy due to lack of funds, issue of postponement of local elections in Sri Lanka heats up


Posted on 1st Mar 2023 03:51 pm by rohit kumar

The issue of postponing the local elections in Sri Lanka continues to be a hot topic. Opposition parties are trying to put the government in the dock regarding this. Voting for the local elections was due on March 9. But the Election Commission postponed the election saying that it did not have the money to print ballot papers and other election works.

 

The general assessment in the Sri Lankan media was that the ruling party would face a humiliating defeat in these elections. There have been allegations from some quarters that the Election Commission made an excuse for the lack of resources to give relief to the ruling party. Now a group of MPs led by Leader of the Opposition in the Sri Lankan Parliament Sajith Premadasa has demanded Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena summon the Finance Secretary. These MPs have submitted their letter in this regard to Abeywardhena.

 

In this letter, an explanation has also been sought regarding the letter written by Election Commission Chairman Nimal Punchihewa to the Speaker. It is said that Punchhieva wrote this letter to the speaker on February 24, asking him to arrange funds for the local elections. The announcement of postponing the election had already been made before sending this letter.

 

President Ranil Wickremesinghe has said that at present there is no money to hold elections. In a statement given in Parliament, he said that all the parties should discuss this and find a solution. He said- 'The money is not available now. By the way, there is no election ahead. The Election Commission has not announced any new election schedule. What can we do then?

 

In this connection, Premadasa along with a group of opposition MPs met the Speaker on Tuesday. He claimed that if funds were arranged, the Election Commission would be ready to hold the elections immediately. He said that Rs 10 billion was allocated for the election work, which the government is not releasing. Premadasa has warned that if the local elections are not held, the prestige of the Parliament will also suffer.

 

Premadasa was accompanied by leaders of his party Samgai Jana Balawegaya (SJP) as well as dissident leaders of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujuna Peramuna (SLPP) who went to meet the speaker. He demanded Abeywardhena call the Finance Secretary and tell him that the opposition MPs wanted to discuss the problem of paucity of funds with him. Opposition MPs said- 'We want to present our arguments with figures in front of the Finance Secretary. After that, they can also present their stand as to why they are not giving money to the Election Commission.

 

But the speaker said that there is no such legal provision under which he can call the finance secretary using the power given to the parliament. While the opposition MPs argued that the Speaker can use his authority to call the Finance Secretary.

 

Also Read: Pakistan Economic Crisis: 10 lakh workers will get jobs in Pakistan, industries hit by the economic crisis

1 Like 0 Dislike
Previous news Next news
Other news

'I will return to the House only when I become CM...', how Chandrababu Naidu became a kingmaker after coming out of jail; read his political journey

It has not been even a year since Chandrababu Naidu was almost removed from the scene of Indian o

Congress: 'Will the government hold a debate on the issue of national security in Parliament', Congress asked PM Modi.

After PM Narendra Modi's meeting with the all-party delegation that returned from abroad, Congres

Route of these trains including Shalimar Express coming to Gurgaon will remain diverted, this is the update regarding Vande Bharat

Traffic block has been taken from April 15 to 18 due to the construction of a road between Bijwas

'Until our problems are not resolved, every help is useless', Shehbaz Sharif said on the plight of Pakistan

Pakistan is facing a financial crisis these days. The situation is such that there is a continuou

Weather Update: Fog turns deadly; more than 30 vehicles collide in Uttar Pradesh, the situation is also bad in Rajasthan; several flights are delayed.

Several people lost their lives in separate accidents across North India due to dense fog. Six pe

Pakistan's 16-year-old record broken in Champions Trophy, 'Rizwan Brigade' embarrassed in its own home

Whenever your country is hosting a tournament, there is more pressure on you to make your team wi

IPL 2024: Delhi Capitals players expressed unhappiness over the impact player rule, the coach's thinking is completely different

Delhi Capitals spinner Akshar Patel believes that the introduction of the Impact Player rule in t

Kolkata Rape Case: Doctors' protest continues in Swasthya Bhavan, said- they are frustrated sitting in AC rooms and we...

Today, a full month has passed since the case of rape and murder of a female trainee doctor in We

Leh Violence: All schools and colleges in Leh will remain closed for two days, 50 arrested so far; read how the situation is

The situation in Leh remains tense. A curfew remained in effect in Leh on Thursday. Earlier, four

Uniform Civil Code: UCC will be implemented in Uttarakhand today, CM will inaugurate the portal and rules

After two and a half years of preparations, the Uniform Civil Code (UCC) is going to be implement

Sign up to write
Sign up now if you have flare of writing..
Login   |   Register
Follow Us
Indyaspeak @ Facebook Indyaspeak @ Twitter Indyaspeak @ Pinterest RSS



Play Free Quiz and Win Cash