Navin Gooneratne calls for postponement of General Election

Tuesday, 17 March 2020 00:49 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Activist Navin Gooneratne has urged for the postponement of the General Elections scheduled for 25 April.

Navin Gooneratne

In an appeal to Election Commissioner, Maha Nayakas, President, Prime Minister and Opposition Leader, Gooneratne has listed nine reasons why polls should be postponed.

Following is the full text of the letter by Gooneratne for and on behalf of Movement to Unite Motherland.

While thanking the Government for closing Schools until 20 April to minimise contact between people to prevent the spread of the Corona Virus, an appeal is made to all responsible members of the above Institutions to postpone the conduct of the General Elections by one month for the

purpose of:

Assessing the spread of and the methods to contain the coronavirus
Devise an Innovative Election Campaign to minimise candidate to people contact to prevent contamination and the threat to the lives of candidates and their supporters
Maximise the campaign propaganda exposure by using available media and Innovative Digital Platforms giving a fair opportunity to political parties and Independent Groups to present their manifestos and candidates
Reduce the cost of staging of the General Elections using available advancing technology
Minimise contact during voting between voter and officials by similar technological means
Minimise the process involved in counting of ballots using innovative and secure digital devices
Provide an opportunity for Sri Lanka’s innovators who are abreast of advancing digital technology to exhibit their uniqueness and capacity to the world by having an open contest to satisfy above conditions giving time till 20 April to submit proposals to the Chairman of Elections Commission and evaluate the proposals before 30 April, by which time a proper assessment could be made regarding the coronavirus
By this process, the world will observe that the Government of Sri Lanka has taken serious note of the pandemic warning issued by the World Health Organization by not exposing the people to an imminent disaster facing the globe
We pray that this appeal made in good faith will be considered favourably to protect the wellbeing of the people of our motherland

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