Govt. will only secure 8% of the vote at LG polls: Prof. G.L. Peiris 

• Says technical research has revealed the Govt. will fare poorly at the upcoming LG election
• Calls on EC to intervene in providing relief to State employees who submitted nominations due to the inconveniences faced by them due to delaying of the vote
• Asks EC to declare new election date soon and says IGP and Govt. Printer must stop obstructing the holding of polls

Prof. G.L. Peiris

Parliamentarian Prof. G.L. Peiris says technical research into the upcoming Local Government elections has revealed that the current Government will only receive a vote percentage of about 10%. According to Peiris, both the parties representing the Government will get only 8% of the votes. The MP made these comments at a press conference held in Colombo yesterday.

He extended his gratitude to the Supreme Court for the interim order delivered on the Local Government polls last week and said the Government must now prepare to face an election by force of circumstances. He said the Supreme Court’s intervention to remove all impediments to conducting the election was also a major relief to the Elections Commission. 

The MP also noted that the Commission must intervene in providing relief to the 3500 State employees who put forward their nominations for the LG elections for the inconvenience they have faced due to the delaying of the elections. 

He also called on the Election Commission to announce the new date for elections without any further delay. “The IGP and the Government Printer must stop obstructing the elections and extend their support to hold the vote,” he said. The MP noted that the Supreme Court decision has allowed the Treasury Secretary to act independently and any failure to adhere to the court order will be an offence.