Sri Lanka has a civic population that has the capacity to take to the streets if the government violates the constitution to postpone the presidential elections, Chairman of the People’s Action for Free & Fair Elections (PAFFREL) Rohana Hettiarachchi said.
“Elections don’t belong to political parties, governments or political leaders. Elections belong to the people,” Hettiarachchi said speaking to reporters.
“The presidential election must definitely be held between September 17 and October 17. The president cannot change that, nor can the cabinet, nor Basil Rajapaksa,” he said.
Rajapaksa, the national organiser of the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), has said it would be advisable to hold the parliamentary elections before the presidential polls.
Parliamentary elections are not due till 2025, but the president has the authority to dissolve parliament and call for elections. Parliament can also vote to dissolve itself. The SLPP currently holds a majority in Sri Lanka’s legislature.
“It is wholly the responsibility of the election commission to hold the presidential election during this period. The government cannot take decisions on the presidential election,” said Hettiarachchi.
“If for some reason there are attempt to act in violation of the constitution, we believe our country has a citizenry strong enough to take to the streets,” he said.
SLPP leader and former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, Basil’s older brother, has also called for parliamentary elections to be held first.
The Rajapaksa brothers’ argument is that the winner of the presidential election would be able to consolidate power after securing a strong majority at a follow-up general election, which they claim would be not in the best interest of democracy.
The Rajapaksas nor anyone else in the SLPP had voiced this concern when the SLPP went onto secure a two-thirds majority in 2020, months after the party’s candidate and another Rajapaksa brother, Gotabaya, won the 2019 presidential poll won in a landslide.