The Hon. Bimal Rathnayake - Minister of Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation and Leader of the House of Parliament

¶ 01 Mr. Speaker, I wish to make a few points on this Bill.

¶ 02 Sri Lanka is still facing the consequences of an orchestrated assault on democracy when President Ranil Wickremesinghe cancelled the local authorities election. He famously said from that very Chair, “There is no election; there is no money.” Many here stood by him then. Cases were filed; interim directions pointed to the impropriety of withholding funds; ultimately the Supreme Court held in 2024 that fundamental rights were violated by cancelling the February 2023 poll. Enormous public funds had already been spent when the election was cancelled.

¶ 03 After the new Parliament convened on 21 November 2024, all party leaders met on 25 November and agreed on two points: cancel the old nominations and call fresh nominations; and conduct the election under the existing system to avoid further delay. Reasons were clear: some parties and symbols used in 2023 no longer exist; some candidates switched parties or quit politics; some are now MPs. The colonial-era ordinance does not address these situations except death of a candidate.

¶ 04 Public will in 2022–2024 has changed; holding a 2025 poll on 2023 nominations would be wrong. Hence the consensus. Petitions were filed; on 14 February the Supreme Court held this Bill requires a two-thirds majority. The Court has also said the election must be held expeditiously. With recent presidential and parliamentary polls completed, practical and constitutional constraints then in force no longer apply. The Election Commission retains discretion to fix a feasible date, but nobody in any branch should think they alone decide everything; the three organs must respect each other. The bottom line: we cannot delay further; we must hold the election as soon as possible.

¶ 05 On representation: there will be a 25% youth allocation in nominations and strengthened women’s representation, continuing the progressive changes that have brought more capable women into public life.

¶ 06 As to timelines: claims that there is “no time” are unfounded. Statutory periods are known — nominations and minimum campaign periods between 35 and 49 days. The Budget ends on 21 March; realistically, polling can be scheduled toward late April, giving about five weeks for local organizing. The O/L exam spans about ten days; campaign events are typically in the evenings, so manageable with planning. Deposits: substantial sums are tied up; we support refunding, and the Election Commission and Treasury should facilitate.

¶ 07 We conducted the last general election fairly without misuse of state resources. Let us pass this Bill, hold the local elections, and restore strong, elected local authorities quickly. Thank you.