Tactics of intimidation are allegedly being employed to delay election-related printing in order to postpone the local government polls, according to sources at the Government Printing Department.

Ballot papers are yet to be printed although they were to be dispatched to the districts today (14) in time for three-days of posting voting from February 22.

According to certain media, the government printer is coming under pressure to delay the printing, while a strike is being planned to disrupt the activity.

Unlike previous occasions, no police protection has so far been given for the printing process either.

However, senior official of the Department denied attempts were being made to delay the printing work.

Govt. blocks funding – Patali

Meanwhile, MP Patali Champika Ranawaka charged the government is now plotting to block funding for the election after failing in all its attempts to put it off for the 21st time.

Addressing a rally in Panadura, he said that unable to postpone the LG polls through parliament or the judiciary, the cabinet has now decided to halt funding to the Election Commission.

There are rumours that the commission was not getting the money to hold the election, he said.

No printing on credit, EC told

Meanwhile, the government printer informed the Election Commission yesterday afternoon that printing work cannot be done on credit.

The EC has estimated a Rs. 461 million cost for the printing purposes of the LG polls.

Its chairman Nimal Punchihewa said the matter would be raised at a meeting with party secretaries today.

S&P Global Ratings has downgraded the SriLankan Airlines government guaranteed bond to ‘D’ from ‘CC’ after it failed to pay a coupon.

“The government of Sri Lanka, as guarantor, has also failed to make the coupon payment, upon the expiry of the 30-day grace period beginning Dec. 25, 2022,” S&P said.

“We lowered the issue ratings on the SLA 2024 bond to ‘D’ from ‘CC’ because both the issuer and government of Sri Lanka, as guarantor, missed a coupon payment of about US$6.1 million,” S&P said.

“This payment was originally due December 2022, and the grace period expired in January 2023.

“The bond, along with other international sovereign bonds (ISBs) that the government issued, will remain at ‘D’, pending the conclusion of current debt negotiations.

“Negotiations for the SLA bond may be separate from those on the government’s other ISBs. Our rating on all of these is ‘D’.”

The Government today asserted that it has no money to hold the Local Government (LG) election.

Cabinet Spokesman Bandula Gunawardena told reporters today that he had consulted the State Minister of Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya on the availability of funds to hold the elections.

Gunawardena said that Siyambalapitiya had informed him that the Government did not have sufficient funds at this moment to hold an election.

He said that the Supreme Court has also been informed about the situation.

The Election Commission had said yesterday that the Government Printer has not been paid the required funds to print ballot papers for the election.

The Government Printer has informed the Election Commission that it will not be able to print the ballot papers without receiving the funds.

The Local Government elections are scheduled to take place on 9th March.

The National Election Commission said that around 30,000 applications for postal voting for the upcoming Local Government Election were rejected.

The NEC said a majority of the applicants had submitted incomplete applications.

It added that approximately 675,000 applications were submitted for postal voting for the 2023 Local Government Election.

The secure packages containing the postal vote ballot papers will be handed over to the Department of Posts on the 15th of February, and the official ballot papers for the election will be handed over on the 19th of February.

Approximately 200,000 state employees will be assigned to election duty.

Postal voting for the 2023 Local Government Election will take place on the 22nd, 23rd, and 24th of February.