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Thursday Dec 12, 2024
Thursday, 18 May 2017 00:24 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By S.S. Selvanayagam
Senior Counsel Manohara de Silva yesterday (17) submitted in the Supreme Court that the bill titled Registration of Electors Special Provision Act treats persons who have been residing in the Northern and Eastern provinces differently to those from any other part of the country, violating the right to equal protection by the law.
The application seeking a Supreme Court Special Determination yesterday came up before a bench comprising Chief Justice Priyasath Dep and Justices Sisira J. De Abrew and Nalin Perera.
The petition was filed by UPFA Parliamentarian Udaya Gammanpila, who is the leader of the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya.
Gammanpila states that the bill provides for the registration of persons whose names appeared in the Electoral Registers in the Northern and Eastern provinces prior to 18 May 2009.
He alleges that the purpose of passing this bill appears to be to permit the registration of members of the Tamil diaspora.
He contends the provisions of the bill will enable them to come to Sri Lanka purely for the purpose of getting their names in to the electoral registers of the Northern and Eastern provinces without having any permanent residency in Sri Lanka.
He states there are persons who were living outside the Northern and Eastern provinces and there are displaced persons who were displaced due to reasons other than terrorist attacks such as natural disasters.
He states persons displaced from the Northern and Eastern provinces who chose their residence in any other part of Sri Lanka between 2009 and 2016 and entered their names in any other electoral district were disqualified from making an application for registration under the proposed law.
Persons who have left Sri Lanka who have not been resident in the Northern and Eastern provinces prior to 18 May 2009 would not be entitled to invoke the provisions of the propose law and enter their names in the electoral register in any electoral district, he states.
He laments that the sole purpose of the proposed law appears to be to give an undue advantage to the Tamil National Alliance, which is a prominent political party in the Northern and Eastern provinces.
He maintains that the entire bill or any one or more of the clauses and sections thereof cannot become law unless they are passed by a two-thirds parliamentary majority and then approved by the people at a referendum.
Court yesterday fixed the matter to resume on 19 May (Friday).
Manohara de Silva PC with David Weeraratne appeared for the Petitioner. Deputy Solicitor General Arjun Obeysekera appeared for the Attorney General.
