Sunday Dec 15, 2024
Sunday Dec 15, 2024
Friday, 5 January 2018 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By S.S. Selvanayagam
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) yesterday filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court contesting the rejection of its nomination paper for the election of members to the Maharagama Urban Council.
Its Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam and its authorised agent H.K. Chandrasiri de Silva filed the petition citing Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya, members of the Election Commission, Commissioner General of Election R.M.A.L. Rathnayake, Commissioner General of Election/Director General, Returning Officer for the Maharagama Urban Council Damayanthi Wanigasinghe and secretaries of political parties as well as the leaders of the independent groups as respondents.
The petitioners seek the immediate intervention of the Supreme Court to prevent the alleged injustice being caused to their political party being deprived of contesting the forthcoming Local Government Election for the Maharagama Urban Council pursuant to a decision made by the Returning Officer to reject their nomination paper.
They state their nomination paper for the Maharagama Urban Council to the Returning Officer was rejected for not having met the requirements stipulated under Section 28 (2B) read with Section 31 of the Local Authorities Elections Act (as amended).
They maintain Section 28B is not a requirement to be complied by a political party but reads that, “The returning officer shall as soon as is practicable make a copy of each nomination paper received by him and display such copies of the nomination papers on his notice board.”
They state though the total number of women representatives was met as required by law, inadvertently a single woman representative’s gender had been written as male as opposed to female.
They contend the rejection of their nomination papers is illegal, unlawful and unreasonable.
They maintain the nomination paper ex-facie fulfil all requisites and the requirements especially as required under Section 28 and Section 29 of the Local Authorities Elections Act (as amended).
They allege the purported decision of the Returning Officer to reject the said nominations paper amounts to a curtailment of the rights of the candidates and subversion of the right to the franchise of the voters of the locality in the proposed Local Government elections.
They are seeking the Court to quash the decision of the Returning Officer and prevent the respondents from rejecting their nomination paper.
They are also seeking an interim order preventing the respondents from holding the Local Government elections in respect of the election of members to the Maharagama Urban Council until the final determination of this application.
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) yesterday filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court contesting the rejection of its nomination paper for the election of members to the Mahiyanganaya Pradeshiya Sabha.
The SLPP’s Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam and Authorised Agent in their petition cited Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya, members of the Election Commission, Director General of Election R.M.A L. Rathnayake, secretaries of political parties and leaders of independent groups as respondents.
The petitioners state that their party nomination paper for the Mahiyanganaya Pradeshiya Sabha submitted to the Returning Officer was rejected for not having met the requirements stipulated under Section 28 (2A) read with Section 31 of the Local Authorities Elections Act (as amended).
They state the rejection of their nomination papers was unlawful and unreasonable.
They claim the nomination paper ex-facie fulfilled all requirements especially as required under Section 28 and Section 29 of the Local Authorities Elections Act (as amended).
They allege the purported grounds for rejection on the failure to specify the gender in front accurately and or omission to specify thereof is ultra vires of the statutory powers of the Returning Officer in accepting or rejecting nominations.
They state the purported ground for rejection on the failure to specify the gender of each candidate accurately as male or female is illegal and unreasonable.
They blame the purported decision of Returning Officer to reject the said nominations paper amounts to a curtailment of the rights of the candidates and subversion of the right to franchise of the voters of the locality in the proposed Local Government elections to be held to elect candidates to the Mahiyanganaya Pradeshiya Sabha.
They are petitioning Court to quash the decision of the Returning Officer to reject their nomination papers for the Mahiyanganaya Pradeshiya Sabha and to prevent the respondents from proceeding with the elections scheduled to be held on 10 February without accepting the nominations submitted by their party. (SSS)
