The Election Commission of Sri Lanka has announced that the country’s parliamentary election has been set for June 20, in a bid to prevent the country from going into its second constitutional crisis in less than a year. The country was initially set to hold its election on the 25th of April but this was eventually postponed as a result of the coronavirus pandemic.
The decision to go through with the elections was reached after an intense meeting on the election premises between Election Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya, parties involved, health officials, security authorities, senior postal officials, district secretaries, and other stakeholders.
Ratnajeevan Hoole, one of the three commission members behind the gazette notice released by the Commission, told The Associated Pressafter the meeting that the commission decided to invoke a section in the Parliamentary Elections Act that allows the panel to issue necessary directions to manage any special or unforeseen circumstances.
Noting that the elections could still be pushed back if needed, Hoole further stated that the date was pushed forward-considering an increasing coronavirus threat, and the inability to organize an election with a limited number of election staff.
In March, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa of Sri Lanka dissolved the opposition-controlled parliament six months early with the assumption that the elections would be held almost immediately. This led to the April 25th date which was then postponed indefinitely after the government declared an island-wide curfew. Rajapaksa also rejected the Election Commission’s suggestion that the Supreme Court finds a solution, as well as, suggestions by the opposition that presidential powers be used to recall the dissolved Parliament.
Opposition parties have also expressed concerns surrounding the upcoming elections and the danger it poses to the voting community and residents in general.
The constitution in Sri Lanka stipulates that a dissolved Parliament must be replaced within three months. The deadline had been June 2.
