EP Councilor challenges his expulsion: CA issues notices returnable for 5 Sept.

By S.S.Selvanayagam

The Court of Appeal issued notices on United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), Elections Commission and others returnable for 5 September in pursuant to a petition filed by Eastern Provincial Council Member Ariff Samsudeen. 

Petitioner Ariff Samsudeen filed his petition challenging the impugned decision of the UPFA to expel him from the UPFA resulting in the loss of his provincial council seat. 

The matter came up before Bench comprising Justices P.R.Welgama, S.Devika de L. Tennakoon and L.U.Jayasuriya. 

Petitioner cited UPFA Secretary Mahinda Amaraweera, UPFA, Elections Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya, Members of Elections Commission, Eastern Provincial Council Secretary M.C.M.Sherif and others as Respondents. 

Romesh de Silva PC with Nizam Kariappar, A.M.Faiz, Sugath Caldera and Niranjan Arulpragasdam instructed by G.G.Arulpragasam appeared for the Petitioner. 

The Petitioner is seeking a declaration from the Court that his expulsion is invalid and is null and void and/or has no force or avail in law. 

He states he received 19,680 preferential votes and was placed at No. 4 of the UPFA in order of preference votes. 

He pleads he never applied to be a member of the UPFA and the UPFA never conferred on him its membership but he has discovered that he is deemed to be a member of the UPFA. 

He states he is unaware of any Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the UPFA and the National Congress and maintains that in any event such MOU is irrelevant for the purposes of this application. 

He states he received several communications from the National Congress including a purported dismissal from it but claims all such communications and the purported dismissal are not relevant for the purposes of this application.