EC hints at General Election in late April or first week of May

• EC Chairman says if President dissolves Parliament on 1 March, polls can be held at the end of April or beginning of May
• Says laws on conduct of media during polls need to be enacted prior to that
• Urges Speaker to also ensure that PC Polls Act is amended 

The next Parliamentary Election could be held in the last week of April or the first week of May if President Gotabaya Rajapaksa dissolves Parliament on 1 March as he is constitutionally empowered to do, Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said yesterday.

Deshapriya made this observation when members of the Election Commission met with Speaker Karu Jayasuriya in Parliament to apprise him on the conduct of the Presidential Election and discuss what measures could be taken to ensure the people were able to exercise their franchise in a truly free and fair manner without undue influence.

The Election Commission Chairman sought the Speaker’s assistance to ensure that new legislation was enacted before the next election so that a freer and fairer poll could be held. He said the necessary regulations on how the media should conduct itself during the period of an election would be shortly forwarded to Parliament.

Deshapriya also requested the Speaker to ensure that Parliament passed the necessary legislation so that the Provincial Council Elections, which have been delayed for over a year in some provinces, could soon be held.

He said the Election Commission would also recommend necessary amendments to the Provincial Councils Act of 2018 so that shortcomings in the legislation could be overcome.

The Speaker said he would work to get parliamentary support for the enactment of new media guidelines and praised the Election Commission for the way the Presidential Election was successfully conducted.

Election Commissioners N.J. Abeysekere PC and Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole, along with Election Commissioner General Saman Sri Ranthnayake, attended the meeting while Parliament Secretary-General Dhammika Dasanayake and Deputy Secretary General Neil Iddawela were also present at the occasion.