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

A new twist with the new season, Bigg Boss will show the future of contestants in the mirror, the first look of the luxurious house revealed

This time the contestants will play their game in the Bigg Boss house with the Tandava of time. T

Varanasi: PM Modi will come to Kashi today on a two-day visit, will bow his head to Saint Shiromani, and give a gift of Rs 14 thousand crores.

Exactly one month after the consecration of Ram Lalla in Ayodhya, Prime Minister Narendra Modi wi

The air remains toxic: Haze lingers in Delhi's skies... AQI nears 400; find out how toxic the air in NCR has become.

The air in the capital Delhi, continues to remain toxic. On Monday morning, thick smog enveloped

Israel Hamas War: 'This is a time of great tension', US Secretary of State Fears Gaza war may increase

US Secretary of State Antony Blinken warned on Sunday that the ongoing fighting in Gaza could esc

'An unprecedented incident could have occurred in Parliament with PM Modi present,' says Speaker Om Birla in a major statement.

The fact that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was unable to deliver his speech during the debate on

Twitter Logo: The bird flew away, and the dog came, Elon Musk made this change in the Twitter logo

Elon Musk changed the logo of Twitter on Tuesday. Now the dog is visible in the logo instead of t

COVID-19 Cases: Four cases of Covid reported in Telangana, The government appeals to people to be cautious

A new wave of Covid is knocking in the country. Four cases of Covid were reported in Telangana on

Maha Kumbh: This time Dome City will be built above the ground, arrangements will be made for 200 people to stay at a time, and homestays will also be ready

On the one hand, while preparations are being made on a war footing for the Maha Kumbh to be held

'If he recites a Sanskrit shloka, I will consider it a miracle...', Rambhadracharya challenges Saint Premananda

Padma Vibhushan Jagadguru Ramanandacharya Swami Rambhadracharya has directly challenged Saint Pre

IND vs SA: Hardik Pandya openly showered love on Mahieka Sharma; his girlfriend said, "There's no one like you, my king."

The Indian cricket team, after defeating South Africa 2-1 in the ODI series, started the five-mat

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