By

Meera Srinivasan

Sri Lanka’s Election Commission on Friday said the country’s local government elections, scheduled for March 9, stands postponed due to reasons “beyond” its control.

The new date for the local body polls will be announced on March 3, the Election body said in a media statement.

Further, the Election Commission has sought the intervention of the Parliamentary Speaker to secure the funds required to hold elections.

The development comes even as President Ranil Wickremesinghe faces sharp criticism from the political opposition, civil society, and religious leaders, for “postponing” the elections.

On Thursday, he told Parliament that his priority was “rebuilding the economy, and not politics.” “There is no official date set for the election yet for it to be postponed,” Mr. Wickremesinghe claimed, after members of his United National Party — and other political parties — filed nominations in recent weeks.

The Treasury earlier said it did not have adequate funds to hold local government elections that were estimated to cost Sri Lankan Rupees (LKR) 10 billion. Government critics deem the conduct of polls a necessary democratic exercise, especially since it is the first election after the Rajapaksas were ousted from power by a mass citizens’ movement last year.

The country’s top lawyers’ association, academics, and rights defenders earlier issued statements demanding timely polls, while opposition parties have warned of more protests. The Anglican Church noted in a recent statement: “The hallmark of any democracy is the opportunity it affords citizens to choose their own elected representatives at the due time. Denying that opportunity to our people will only affirm the fact that we are now under a dictatorship.”

Courtesy:The Hindu