Sri Lanka Cricket set for elections
Sri Lanka’s cricket board is set for its first elections in four
years, Sports Minister Gamini Lokuge told AFP on Wednesday. Sri Lanka
Cricket (SLC) has been dogged in recent years by controversies and
bitter infighting among politicians wanting to wrest control of the most
popular sport in the island nation.
“Work is underway to hold the elections,” Lokuge said, while
declining to give a precise date.
The last elected administration under Tilanga Sumathipala was
dismissed by the then sports minister Jeewan Kumaratunga in March 2005,
barely a year after elections. Since then, politically appointed
administrations have run SLC, the island’s richest sports governing
body. Sumathipala’s rival in the 2004 election, former captain Arjuna
Ranatunga, now heads SLC, but the 44-year-old, who is a ruling party
member of parliament, has said he is not interested in contesting the
elections.Jayantha Dharmadasa, a previous chairman of SLC, and
Sumathipala are thought likely to run.
COLOMBO, Thursday AFP |