Treasury secretary Mahinda Siriwardana has informed the Election Commission of a difficulty in funding the local government polls.
Siriwardena and his officials met EC chairman Nimal Punchihewa yesterday (17).
He noted that election expenditure is not included in essential services declared by president Ranil Wickremesinghe.
The president’s approval is required if finances are allocated for non-essential purposes, said the treasury secretary.
Postal voting postponed indefinitely
Meanwhile, postal voting for the LG polls has been postponed indefinitely.
Due to take place on February 22 to 24 and February 28, postal voting cannot take place as the EC has not received the postal ballot papers from the Government Press.
Election commissioner general Saman Sri Ratnayake said new dates for postal voting would be announced in due course.
