Sri Lanka’s long-delayed Provincial Council (PC) Elections could be held sooner if conducted under the previous proportional representation system, the Election Commission (EC) said.
EC Chairperson R.M.A.L. Rathnayake told the media that Parliament ultimately decides the electoral system, but returning to the prior arrangement could expedite the process.
“If the existing legal framework does not allow us to use the delimitation report that was completed earlier, Parliament will have to consider either calling for a new delimitation or decide to hold the elections under the previous arrangement,” he said.
A fresh delimitation, Rathnayake added, could take close to a year to complete, potentially delaying elections further. The process was initially stalled due to a legal dispute stemming from an amendment introduced by the United National Front government between 2015 and 2020.
Although a delimitation report was submitted to Parliament several years ago, it was rejected at the time.
The government had indicated it would initiate legal reforms for the PC Elections after the local government elections were held on 6 May 2025, but no significant progress has been made in preparing for the polls or implementing the necessary legal changes.
The EC said Parliament could amend the law to facilitate the elections, but a final decision on the electoral system remains pending.
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