PAFFREL Chairman calls for postponement of Local Govt polls

PAFFREL Chairman Kingsley Rodrigo in a letter to President Mahinda Rajapakse states:

Your Excellency,

I write to bring to the notice of Your Excellency that several issues vital to the conduct of the elections due to be held to the local government institutions to the conduct of the elections due to be held to the local government institutions of the country before 15th April 2006 have come to our attention.

As a people's organisation dedicated to ensure free, fair and democratic elections, while we feel that it is incumbent on our part to place these matters before you, we are also emboldened to do so in the knowledge that they would get due consideration owing to Your Excellency's high regard for democratic ideals.

The first of these issues, we would submit, is the question that has recently been fairly widely discussed with regard to a considerable number of citizens not having their names in the Electoral Registers that were compiled by the Commissioner of Elections for the year 2004.

The allegation that has been made is that these citizens found, at the last moment, that they would not be able to vote at the last Presidential election as they had not been registered as electors. Whatever the reason that may have been stated for this situation, the electors.

Whatever the reason that may have been stated for this situation, the electors themselves could, no doubt, have rectified this state of affairs if they had been vigilant enough, as the procedures currently obtaining make sufficient provision to do.

Yet, as this issue has received the attention of the public and as there have been various imputations that suggested interference with the inclusivity aspect of elections, providing an opportunity for the citizens in question to include themselves in the Electoral Registers of 2005 and then participate in the local government elections, we feel, would be desirable.

The second issue relates to the position in the North and the East. Nominations for the local government institutions in these areas were received in 2002.

However, in view of the prevailing security situation elections have been postponed from time to time up to now. It is essential to note that during this period of time, as many as 20 of the candidates who gave nominations have passed away. A further 19 candidates have changed their political parties.

This, it has to be admitted, has transformed the entire picture and any election conducted on the nominations already received would be meaningless. The only alternative that exists, it appears, is to annul the nominations and call for fresh ones. This requires Parliamentary action which needs time.

The third aspect we wish to place before Your Excellency concerns a statement that has recently been made by the Hon. Minister of Local Government and Provincial Councils.

The Hon. Minister had stated that the forthcoming local government elections would be based on a system that combines proportional representation and the first-past-the post system.

Even if the necessary legislation to enable the adoption of the proposed system is rushed through the Parliament, its implementation will entail a large amount of preparatory work for the Department of Elections.

The Department, therefore, will have to be allowed the necessary time to attend to the necessary activities.

We are of the view that it would be possible to take meaningful action to resolve the above issues if the local government elections are postponed for a further period of about six months and if necessary action is initiated now.

This, we feel, would enhance the democratic nature of the elections and also enhance the confidence of the people in the electoral system.

We, therefore, urge Your Excellency to give consideration to these important aspects and cause appropriate action to be taken with regard to them.