Election monitors would hold a consultative meeting on April 25 to address the concerns about the new laws governing provincial council elections, Rohana Hettiarachchi, Executive Director of People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) said.
Representatives of election monitoring organisations, political parties, academics and other concerned parties will take part in the meeting. The Election Monitors hope to establish a committee to receive public and expert opinion on the laws governing provincial council elections. The committee is to prepare a comprehensive proposal on proposed changes for the law within 4-6 weeks of its appointment.
“There has been a lot of criticism against the new local council electoral system. There have been issues over the bonus seats, overhangs etc and since the law regarding Provincial Councils is similar to local council electoral system, many people are concerned. We feel that some of these worries are justified and that’s why we want to address them.”
Election Monitors held a preliminary discussions with representatives of the Elections Commission and Ministry of Provincial Councils and local government on Monday (09) on the multiparty consultative meeting.