Stage set for PC elections: Parliament to take up bill for second reading on tomorrow

 

Logo of Northern Provincial Council. File Pix

The government will submit the bill to amend the Provincial Council Elections Act on Tuesday (6) for the second reading in Parliament with the objective of holding PC elections soon after the presidential polls are concluded.

The bill, which was submitted originally as a private member bill by Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchchi (ITAK) Parliamentarian M.A. Sumanthiran, was cleared recently by the Supreme Court after it was challenged by two Fundamental Rights petitions.

The Committee on Parliamentary Business decided on Friday to take up the bill for the second reading on August 6 with the support of the government to enact it as a law with a simple majority, paving the way for holding PC elections under the previous electoral system.

Mr. Sumanthiran, who met President Ranil Wickremesinghe on Thursday, told the Sunday Times that they agreed in principle that PCs must be in existence at the earliest, and the government agreed to facilitate the passage of the bill to hold PC elections after the conclusion of presidential polls. “This bill can be passed within a day.”

Mr. Sumanthiran presented the current bill on March 23 last year for the third time after he originally presented the bill in the previous Parliament in 2019. After it was challenged in the Supreme Court, the bill was cleared.

The bill, if enacted, will repeal Provincial Council Elections Act No. 17 of 2017, which introduced a mixed electoral system, and revert to the previous electoral system to hold polls without any further delay.

During Thursday’s meeting, the ITAK lawmaker also discussed some of the critical issues the party has been involved in discussions with the government, including implementing the 13th Amendment to the Constitution ahead of presidential poll. (The Sunday Times)