President Ranil Wickremesinghe will not allow local government polls to take place despite a date for the election being announced, said former minister P. Harrison.
The Court of Appeal (CA) today issued notice on the Respondents, including, the Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs, Sri Ranga and the other newly elected office of bearers of Football Federation of Sri Lanka (FFSL) on the Petition filed by Jaswar Umar Lebbe, the immediate past president of the FFSL.
The Election Commission is uncertain if the newly-passed act to regulate election expenditure will lead to a postponement of the local government polls.
At least seven people were killed and more than 50 others injured after a bus carrying schoolchildren crashed into a van and a three-wheeler in Nuwara Eliya last night (20), police said.
Former President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s office has refuted claims of him using 19 vehicles for his personal use and also Rs. 950,000 a month for his food.
Finance secretary Mahinda Siriwardena has informed the Supreme Court that sourcing funds for the local government polls has become a challenge for the treasury.
He said this in an affidavit submitted in relation to a writ application filed by retired Army Colonel W.M.R. Wijesundara who is seeking an order to postpone the election.
All revenue sources locally and internationally have been crippled, and managing public finances has become a very serious issue, said the finance secretary.
His affidavit said that as per the government's revenue sources the monthly income is around Rs. 163 billion, and only Rs. 18 billion remains to cover all other expenses of the state.
There is a deficit of Rs. 296 billion per month, and it is critical to prioritize government spending in such a situation.
Siriwardena also mentioned about a high likelihood of fiscal slippages in 2023 unless steps are taken to curtail even budgeted expenditure, he also said.
An expenditure for an election adds further pressure on an already stressed public finance system and the treasury would find it extremely challenging to find additional resources for an election at this critical juncture.
Public Utilities Commission chief Janaka Ratnayake said today (20) that he would personally initiate legal action within two days against a decision by the three remaining members of the commission to implement a cabinet proposal to raise electricity tariffs.
The government gave a very bad precedent by hastily passing an act to regulate election expenditure to spoil a good move, said MP Patali Champika Ranawaka.
The indigenous Veddah community has stressed the need to guarantee their traditional rights by the law.
SJB’s Mujibur Rahman quitted his parliamentary seat this morning (20) in order to be the party’s mayoral candidate for Colombo.
