The Election Commission said that it has submitted a comprehensive report to the Attorney General’s Department regarding the activities conducted so far in relation to the general election.
This submission is in response to a fundamental rights petition filed in the Supreme Court concerning the election date.
The Attorney General’s Department had requested observation reports from the Election Commission regarding the election date.
The department stated that it would present its findings to the Supreme Court on the 4th of next month, based on these observation reports.
A fundamental rights petition was filed in the Supreme Court on the 21st of last month, seeking a ruling that the decision to hold the parliamentary election on November 14th is unconstitutional.
The petition was filed by H.M. Priyantha Herath, a civil society activist and convener of the “Api Sri Lanka National Organization.”
The petition claims that the announcement of the nomination period and the election date violates the provisions of the Election Act.
According to the petition, the nomination period was set from October 4th to October 11th, as per Section 10 of the Parliamentary Elections Act.
It added that the Act stipulates that the election date must be set within a period not less than five weeks and not more than seven weeks from the end of the nomination period.
It noted that therefore, the five-week period from the end of the nomination period on October 11th concludes on November 15th, while the seven-week period concludes on November 29th.
The petitioner argues that the correct timeframe for holding the election, according to the Election Act, is between November 15th and November 29th.
The petitioner further asserts that the gazette notification issued by the President announcing the election date is entirely contrary to the law and constitutes a breach of the rule of law.