Cancellation of UNP nomination list

SC takes up leave application today

by Wasantha Ramanayake

COLOMBO: The Supreme Court will take up the Special Leave Application challenging Appeal Court judgement that had held with the decision of the Colombo Returning Officer who rejected the United National Party nomination list for Colombo Municipality for the Local Government Election scheduled for May 20.

A similar applications challenging the Appeal Court decision with regard to the United People's Freedom Alliance nomination list for Gampaha Municipality and Kobeigane Pradeshiya Sabha too will be considered today.

The Bench will comprise Justices Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake, Raja Fernando and Nimal Gamini Amaratunga.

The petitioners, the General Secretaries of two parties made the instant applications being aggrieved by the Appeal Court judgement that refused to quash the decisions of the respective Returning Officers rejecting the nominations lists and to make orders compelling the respondents to accept the nominations of the petitioners' parties for the respective local bodies.

The court held with respondent returning officers that the youth candidates should be 18 by June 1, 2004.

According to the petitioners the respondent returning officer had wrongfully decided that some youth candidates in their party's nominations for the respective local authorities could not be defined as "Youth Candidates" as defined by the Section 31(2) of the Local Authorities (Elections) Ordinance since they had not attained 18 years of age as at June 1, 2004 the date of the commencement of the revision of the 2004 Electoral Register based on which the election to be held.

The petitioners stated that disqualifications of these youth candidates made the lists fell short of the required total number of the youth candidates and in turn, were turned down by the respective returning officers.

The petitioners sought to set aside the Appeal Court judgement and accept their nomination lists for the respective Municipalities.

They also sought an interim relief staying the Local Government Election until the final determination of the applications.