The local government elections that is due to be held in the near future has given rise to numerous critical issues in the political sphere for 2 main reasons. Firstly, the uncertainty of the date of elections and secondly, the different definitions and interpretations’ which are made, based on the new law which will be adopted in commencing the said elections.
The next local government elections will be held in accordance with the new Act introduced in the year 2012, as the Act no 22 of 2012 Local Government Election (Amendment). Since there are several amendments introduced by the parliament related to this act, and due to the way in which the whole country has been divided in line with this law, the actual situation is misunderstood by the general public.
In order to shed light on some of the confusing facts related to aforementioned issues, CMEV has formulated and presented this questionnaire with the answers of Mr. Mahinda Deshapriya.
In this interview he has taken all the prevailing issues and basic details pertinent to the new law into consideration. Furthermore, he has explained the steps taken by election commission leading up to the election with the intent of clarifying the doubts arisen with the allegations leveled by various civic engagement groups and political parties regarding the lack of proactive engagement visible in fulfilling the role of the Election Commission in commencing the LG elections.
Download the document here.