Sports ministry bats away SLC election concerns

• Sports Ministry insists they have adequate contingency plans 
• Mohan de Silva to file legal action this week 
• Ministry to contend against any postponement
• Ready to have last ditch talks with ICC if elections are postponed
  
   

By Madushka Balasuriya

The Ministry of Sports is confident that the Sri Lanka Cricket (SLC) elections will go ahead as scheduled on 21 February, despite plans from Mohan De Silva to take legal action against his ban, with contingency plans in place to continue talks with the International Cricket Council (ICC) in the case of any court intervention.

Sports Ministry Secretary and Competent Authority of SLC Chulananda Perera  - Pic by Nisal Baduge

SLC elections have been postponed since 31 May 2018 with the ICC having provided a deadline of 28 February by which to hold them. If SLC misses that deadline, there is a risk of Sri Lanka’s ICC member status being compromised. 

“If they go to court, the Sports Ministry will take adequate measures to respond to any matters in relation to that. But nevertheless, we see no reason why elections can’t be held on 21 February as scheduled,” stated Sports Ministry Secretary and Competent Authority of SLC Chulananda Perera at a media briefing yesterday.

“If elections are by any chance postponed then the Ministry will take the appropriate legal action to ensure it goes ahead as soon as possible. If that also fails then we will make arrangements to have discussions with the ICC and come to an amicable solution.”

De Silva had been disqualified from the election process after a Sports Ministry-appointed three-member appeals committee upheld Jayantha Dharmadasa’s objection to his nomination, on the grounds that De Silva had fallen foul of No. 25 of the 1973 Sports Law Act. Following a 2016 amendment to the Sports Law Act, the clause now prevents any previous office bearer of a national sports body which had violated clause 32 of the Sports Act, from contesting in any future elections. 

Clause 32 refers to the “refusal, suspension and cancellation of registrations of National Associations of Sports”. Twice De Silva is said to have infringed this clause, in 2001 and 2005, though with subsequent challenges in court against those gazette notifications in 2001 and 2005 ending in settlements, the validity of the original gazettes have been thrown into doubt.

Speaking to the Daily FT, De Silva confirmed that he had handed over counter-objections to the Sports Ministry making this same point, though in the final ruling of the appeal’s committee, they claim not to have received them. De Silva “had not endeavoured to address the issue of the 3 objections taken against his nomination by Jayantha Dharmadasa,” stated the committee’s ruling in documents Daily FT has seen.

“I went to the Ministry, there I gave it to my colleague to hand over a second file [containing the annexes with my counter-objections] to the Minister, and the Minister had instructed his secretary to accept it. We have a letter acknowledging that it was received,” said De Silva.

De Silva said he would be filing his appeal either today or tomorrow.