The government is to move a resolution in parliament when the House reconvenes next week to appoint a parliamentary select committee (PSC) to decide on the electoral system for the provincial council (PC) elections.
It is learnt that the government has obtained the approval of the Parliamentary Business Committee to move the relevant resolution in parliament for the PSC to decide on the electoral system to hold the delayed provincial council elections.
The Business Committee that met in the Parliamentary Complex under the chairmanship of Speaker Jagath Wickramaratne had reportedly approved the resolution to appoint the PSC on January 6.
The proposed PSC will look into and report to Parliament on the matter of selecting the electoral system under which the provincial council elections should be held, and submit its proposals and recommendations in that regard.
Minister Bimal Rathnayake told Parliament in November last year that a special PSC will be appointed to review the legal situation related to conducting the provincial council elections and take necessary steps to hold the elections expeditiously.
Also, Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya told parliament during the debate on the 2026 budget last year that the government would hold the delayed provincial council elections once the legal obstacles that prevent the holding of the polls were cleared. The Prime Minister further noted that the government has already allocated funds in the 2026 budget to hold the provincial council elections this year.
However, opposition parties have been urging the government to hold the delayed provincial council elections as promised earlier, while noting that the ruling party will not be able to sustain the victories recorded at the elections in 2024 and 2025 and would be defeated at the polls.
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