Activist Navin Gooneratne has urged for the postponement of the General Elections scheduled for 25 April.
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Navin Gooneratne
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In an appeal to Election Commissioner, Maha Nayakas, President, Prime Minister and Opposition Leader, Gooneratne has listed nine reasons why polls should be postponed.
Following is the full text of the letter by Gooneratne for and on behalf of Movement to Unite Motherland.
While thanking the Government for closing Schools until 20 April to minimise contact between people to prevent the spread of the Corona Virus, an appeal is made to all responsible members of the above Institutions to postpone the conduct of the General Elections by one month for the
purpose of:
- Assessing the spread of and the methods to contain the coronavirus
- Devise an Innovative Election Campaign to minimise candidate to people contact to prevent contamination and the threat to the lives of candidates and their supporters
- Maximise the campaign propaganda exposure by using available media and Innovative Digital Platforms giving a fair opportunity to political parties and Independent Groups to present their manifestos and candidates
- Reduce the cost of staging of the General Elections using available advancing technology
- Minimise contact during voting between voter and officials by similar technological means
- Minimise the process involved in counting of ballots using innovative and secure digital devices
- Provide an opportunity for Sri Lanka’s innovators who are abreast of advancing digital technology to exhibit their uniqueness and capacity to the world by having an open contest to satisfy above conditions giving time till 20 April to submit proposals to the Chairman of Elections Commission and evaluate the proposals before 30 April, by which time a proper assessment could be made regarding the coronavirus
- By this process, the world will observe that the Government of Sri Lanka has taken serious note of the pandemic warning issued by the World Health Organization by not exposing the people to an imminent disaster facing the globe
- We pray that this appeal made in good faith will be considered favourably to protect the wellbeing of the people of our motherland
