A decision about the Provincial Council Elections will be taken next week, said Leader of the House and Public Enterprise, Kandyan Heritage and Kandy Development Minister Lakshman Kiriella.
He was speaking of the opening the redeveloped Kotaligoda – Thismada Menikdiwela and Rattepitiya – Deldeniya – Uda Ratmeewala roads in the Yatinuwara electorate on Sunday.
Kiriella said although everyone blamed the UNP for postponing the Provincial Council Elections, it was the UNP which said it should be held according to the old preferential system. But both the UPFA and SLFP always argued that it should be held according to the new electoral system.
The Act relating to the new electoral system was tabled by a SLFP minister in the Cabinet. When he failed to get it approved, he himself voted against it. The present Act has been adopted without the revised delimitation report.
Now a completely new Act has to be introduced and adopted in Parliament for elections to be held either according to the old system or the new system. All parties represented in Parliament would meet next week to resolve this puzzle, the Minister said.
Minister Kiriella said as regards the Constitutional Council, when the proposal was made in the 19th Amendment to the Constitution, all political parties supported it in Parliament.
How could Mahinda Rajapaksa oppose it now when his brother Chamal Rajapaksa too was a member of this Council? Perhaps he might be opposing it because the Executive cannot manipulate appointments to the Council as before, Minister Kiriella said.
The two new roads were redeveloped at a cost of Rs. 538 and Rs 250 million respectively. The government had launched development activities throughout the country including in the Kandy district as a reward to the masses which elected it to power, he said.
Add new comment