According to the Chairman of the Election Commission, lawyer Nimal Punchihewa says that the authority of the minister in charge to recall the dissolved local government bodies will harm the people’s sovereignty.
The Chairman of the Election Commission expressed his opinion regarding a draft bill prepared so that the minister in charge of the subject gets the powers to recall the local government bodies.
The Chairman of the Election Commission emphasizes that the people’s representatives chosen through free and fair elections are empowered for a specific period of time.
He said that it is the people and not a minister who should authorize the people’s representatives to act in their respective positions beyond the mandated period.
He said that it will also have a strong impact on the country’s democracy.
A private member’s proposal by MP Jayantha Katagoda, which gives the minister in charge the powers to recall the dissolved local government bodies, has been gazetted as a draft bill.
It has been proposed to amend several clauses included in the Municipal Council Ordinance Act, Municipal Council Amendment Act and Local Council Act.
If those clauses are amended, it will be possible to recall the currently dissolved Municipal Councils, Municipal Councils and Local Councils for a period to be determined by the Minister in charge of the subject.
