Premadasa accuses Govt. of attempting to influence EC

Tuesday, 18 July 2023 00:59 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Says the new select committee to be appointed is an attempt to exert pressure on ECSL
Accuses Govt. of also attempting to influence ongoing court proceedings through the proposed committee
Assures his party together with the opposition will defeat efforts of the Govt. to undermine democracy

Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa issued a special statement yesterday accusing the Government of attempting to influence and exert pressure on the Election Commission of Sri Lanka (ECSL) through the appointment of a new select committee to probe the manner in which the ECSL carried out Sri Lanka’s election process.

He accused the government of abruptly convening a meeting of the Committee on Parliamentary Business and introducing a motion to establish a select committee tasked with investigating the operations of the Election Commission and its members in relation to the country’s election process.

While the motion is set to be taken up in parliament today, Premadasa alleged that the government is rushing to bring forward this motion with the intention of exerting pressure on the recently appointed ECSL and influencing ongoing court proceedings.

The aim, he claimed, is to manipulate both the court and the Election Commission into aligning with the government’s agenda instead of upholding democratic principles.

“It is a veiled hint and an implicit threat to the current Election Commission, suggesting that it must align its work with the government’s agenda. Failure to comply it appears would result in the Election Commission being summoned to appear before a Parliamentary Select Committee,” he said.

Furthermore, he expressed concern that this motion also implies that if judges do not conform to the government’s desires and if court decisions are not implemented accordingly, even the judges themselves could be summoned before a select committee and subjected to pressure.

The opposition leader highlighted that while discussions about a system change in a financially crippled country are ongoing, the implementation of this select committee, through political manoeuvring and tactics, perpetuates the decayed and antiquated system.

Premadasa strongly emphasised his party’s determination to thwart all the malicious efforts by the government aimed at undermining democracy.