It has now been confirmed that the news reported by all the media that there was a discussion between President Ranil Wickramasinghe and the officers of the Independent Election Commission at the Presidential Secretariat last Thursday (05) is completely false.
Below is the news published by the media regarding that discussion.
The President tells the Election Commission to come to an opinion!
President Ranil Wickramasinghe informed the four members of the Election Commission today (5) that they should come to one opinion instead of giving four opinions regarding the holding of the local government election.
The President mentioned this when the four members of the Election Commission came to the Presidential Secretariat this evening and met the President.
Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, Attorney General Sanjay Rajaratnam, Additional Solicitor General Neril Pulle, Election Commission Director General Mr. Saman Sri Ratnayake and four members of the Commission also participated in this discussion.
Commenting on the four opinions of the members of the Election Commission regarding the local government election, the President said that the independence of the Commission has been handed over to the Commission and a decision should be reached by a majority unanimous opinion.
The President said that there is no obstacle for the Election Commission to act independently and also informed that the Commission will seek written instructions from the Attorney General if necessary. The President has further said that the Attorney General’s Department will provide relevant legal support.
Speaking there, the Attorney General said that if there is any legal problem regarding the work of the Election Commission, he should be asked about it directly.
According to political sources, the discussion ended without agreement because the members of the Election Commission did not agree.
Although the news has stated this way, something completely different has happened here.
Although it was stated in this news that only four members of the commission participated, all the members including the chairman of the commission Mr. Nimal Punchihewa have taken steps to participate in the discussion. At the beginning of the discussion, the president asked the members of the commission that ‘how to hold a election now’. The members of the commission have replied that all its work is currently underway and if no judicial or constitutional problem arises, they will take steps to hold the election as decided.
It has been learned that the President did not utter a word when the officials of the commission replied.
After that, the President has taken steps to ask, ‘Are you all of the same opinion?’ The chairman of the commission replied that all the officers of the commission are of the same opinion and there is no problem between them.
Accordingly, it has been learned that the President has not given any response.
It is also known that although the news published in the media stated that the Attorney General was also involved in the discussion and gave advice, the Attorney General has not expressed any opinion there.
Accordingly, the representatives of the Election Commission have now confirmed that this news has been sent to all the media from one place.
Also, it has been learned that the Election Commission has decided not to participate in any discussion called by the President after the opposition called a press conference on Friday to criticize that representatives of the Independent Election Commission cannot participate in such discussions.