The Hon. Sunil Watagala, Attorney-at-Law - Deputy Minister of Public Security and Parliamentary Affairs

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Chairperson of Committees, during this debate on the second reading of the Local Authorities Elections (Special Provisions) Bill, I wish to present a few matters.

¶ 02 The Local Government Election that was to be held in 2023 was postponed. Against that postponement, together with our party leadership, I personally and at party level worked significantly to have the election held.

¶ 03 After Ranil Wickremesinghe postponed the election, our party’s Harini Amarasuriya and Sunil Handunnetti challenged it by petition. Today, who are they? Today, Harini Amarasuriya is the Prime Minister; Sunil Handunnetti is the Minister of Industries. The decision then to prevent us from winning a local authority has led to this major change. They thought to crush our politics then, but that did not happen.

¶ 04 We know this election had reached the final permissible point. As Provincial Councils Minister, he had already postponed it year after year, reaching five years; beyond that, you cannot go. At that point, the Election Commission announced the election. But due to the actions of Ranil Wickremesinghe, it was postponed. We went to court and obtained a judgment. The Supreme Court very clearly held that Articles 12(1) and 14(1)(a) of the Constitution had been violated due to the arbitrary and unlawful conduct of H.E. the President, who was also Minister of Finance. It stated:

¶ 05 “The impugned acts and omissions of H.E. the President who is also the Minister of Finance that were impugned by making these applications against the Honourable Attorney-General had resulted in the infringement of fundamental rights guaranteed under Articles 12(1) and 14(1)(a) of the Constitution due to arbitrary and unlawful conduct.”

¶ 06 After that, another judgment has made matters urgent. Some in the Opposition asked why we are in a rush. It is not our rush; the Supreme Court itself made it urgent, stating that the Local Government Elections 2023 must be scheduled “at the earliest possible” and “with due regard to their duty to hold other elections as required by law”.

¶ 07 A key concept argued in the current case was “legitimate expectations” — that those who had tendered nominations had a legal expectation that the election would be held. The Supreme Court has now required that this Bill be passed with a two-thirds majority. Our Hon. Bimal Rathnayake also clarified this. The current decision flows from the violation of fundamental rights caused by Ranil Wickremesinghe.

¶ 08 Some asked about ninety days and suspected pressure on the Election Commission. Historical facts: after the election was notified on 26.01.2023, a member of the Commission resigned and shortly after became Governor of the Northern Province. On 30.01.2023, the Commission announced readiness to hold the poll. Then on 02.02.2023, a circular was issued restricting funds to “essential” matters — elections were not on that list. On 06.02.2023, another circular said funds would not be released. Then came the Mayadunna–Hapuhinna episode; secretaries were cornered and forced to resign; new appointments were made. That is how pressure was applied then — not by us.

¶ 09 Hon. G.G. Ponnambalam sought a clarification that earlier the Supreme Court had also said elections must not be postponed, and now while speaking of “as soon as possible” the Government has asked for up to three months. My answer is: the present judgment itself says, “without affecting other elections as required by law.” It also clarifies that it does not overrule earlier decisions; it delineates the scope permissible in this instance. Therefore, this is not a delay by us; we brought this Bill at the earliest opportunity, and the Commission will proceed accordingly. Our duty is to pass the law; the Commission’s duty is to conduct the poll.

¶ 10 As for claims that we pressured the judiciary then, it was they who pressured courts. Even when Justice Soorasena issued an interim order to provide funds urgently, they did not speak in this House to hold the election; now they shed crocodile tears. On alleged incidents like at Agunukolapelessa, no assault occurred as claimed; do not drag unrelated incidents here.

¶ 11 Some now file technical cases in the Court of Appeal about appointments — that the Chief of Staff to the President or a Minister’s appointment had issues. Having no political line, they look for odds and ends.

¶ 12 We say: against our 159 MPs, there is not a single allegation relating to misappropriation of public property. That is our political conduct. They hunt for scraps to attack us. The Hon. Wediwita says we will not win a single local authority — how pitiable.

¶ 13 We challenge him: let the Samagi Jana Balawegaya win even one local authority at the coming poll. They cannot. It is confirmed that the National People’s Power will win across all local authorities.

¶ 14 We have brought this Local Authorities Election in accordance with the law, respecting democracy and consistent with the President’s concepts. We have already delivered a peaceful general election with no violence and ensured a level playing field. In this local poll, too, we will protect the level playing field. If you can, win within it. We will win overall. I conclude.