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by Ranjith Padmasiri and Daya Perera

The legal status of Chief Ministers of three provinces have come under scrutiny following Tuesday's Supreme Court ruling which held that no vacancies to the Provincial Councils could be filled from persons outside the nomination lists.

The names of Reginald Cooray, H. G. Sirisena and Berty Premalal Dissanayake, who are presently functioning as the Chief Ministers of Western, Southern and North Central Provincial Councils respectively were not included in the Nominations of candidates for the last Provincial Council Elections. Legal experts point out that in view of the Supreme Court decision declaring the appointment of Samaraweera Weeravanni, first as a member of the Uva Provincial Council and then as the Chief Minister was illegal on the ground of Samaraweera Weeravanni's name not appearing in the nomination papers of Provincial Council Elections of 1999, the appointments of Reginald Cooray, H.G.Sirisena and Berty Premalal can be construed as illegal.

These four Chief Ministers as well as the former Sabaragamuwa Chief Minister Athauda Seneviratne and the former Central Province Chief Minister Nandimitra Ekanayake did not contest at the last Provincial Council Elections held in 1999.

In the filling of vacancies created by the resignation of existing members, the appointment of close friends and relations instead of nominees next in line had been practised as a convention from the very inception of Provincial Councils. The North East Provincial Council which was one of the first of its kind had Vardharajah Perumal as its Chief Minister, whose name did not appear in the Nomination Papers.

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