AMN
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna led National People’s Power has filed a fundamental rights petition before the Supreme Court challenging the postponement of the Local Government elections. The petitioners alleged that deferring the LG polls, which were initially scheduled to be held on 9th March, has violated the fundamental rights of the people. Opposition parties had been holding protests against the government’s decision to postpone the elections. Supreme Court had directed Ministry of Finance Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana to release the finances for the Local Government Elections.
The court directive had also instructed the Election Commission to conduct the Local Government Polls as soon as possible. The main Parliamentary opposition party Samagi Jana Balawegaya has said that the party is considering legal action against the relevant authorities who act in violation of the interim order given by the Supreme Court. The local government elections were postponed to the 25th of April after the Sri Lanka President had said that the Election Commission was not unanimous regarding the holding of the elections. The polls to elect councillors to 340 local councils for a four-year term have been postponed since March last year due to the ongoing economic crisis.