SF complains to HRC about delay by Elections Chief

Democratic Party Leader and former Army Chief Sarath Fonseka yesterday filed a complaint at the Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka, charging that the Elections Commissioner was delaying registering his political party.

Fonseka’s complaint says that the Elections Commissioner was claiming there was a technical problem with regard to registering his party, in spite of an order issued by the HRC in 2012.

The Elections Commissioner rejected the party’s registration application on two grounds when the Democratic National Alliance revised its name and sought to be registered as the Democratic Party following the presidential elections of 2010. The party filed a complaint with the HRC which upheld that the Constitution had been breached by the refusal to register the party and notified the Elections Commissioner in June 2012.   

The Democratic Party says that since the Elections Commissioner has not responded positively to the Commission’s ruling, it is seeking the further intervention of the HRC in the matter.