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GMOA poll going ahead, enjoining order on one contestant
View(s):The election of office bearers to Sri Lanka’s most powerful health trade union will go ahead as scheduled next week on June 28 amidst a ruling by a court barring one of the contestants.
The Colombo District Court on Tuesday issued three enjoining orders which included preventing Dr. Harsha Atapattu from contesting the post of Vice President (VP) of the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA).
This came on a petition filed by Dr. Anil Ambawatte and Dr. Thusitha Perera who are contesting two VP positions at the election as part of a group seeking to wrest power from the current incumbents headed by Dr. Anuruddha Padeniya, current President, who is re-contesting.
The petitioners said that Dr. Atapattu, part of the Padeniya-led contestants, was not eligible to contest the election by virtue of being a member of another trade union. GMOA rules bar any candidate from being a member of another trade union.
Lawyers for the petitioners said they presented documents to court showing that Dr. Atapattu had joined the Association of Medical Specialists (while being a member of the GMOA) and was its Assistant Secretary in 2010.
The petitioners didn’t seek a stay order to suspend the poll, but sought enjoining orders, barring one of the respondents (Dr. Atapattu) from contesting and voting at the election and preventing the GMOA Elections Committee from putting forward Dr. Atapattu as a candidate, among others. The court issued enjoining orders on the pleas of the petitioners.
The lawyers said that the ex-parte court order was delivered by court fiscal to the GMOA’s Elections Committee on Wednesday. “So far (as of Friday) there has been no challenge to this ruling,” said one of the lawyers for the petitioners.
The petition was supported in court by Ikram Mohamed PC with Neomal Senathillake instructed by Sanath Weeratne.
Asked to comment, Dr. D.C. Rajapakse of the Elections Committee confirmed to the Sunday Times that the court had issued an enjoining order with regard to one person who is contesting the election. He said, however, the election will be held as scheduled on Saturday, June 28.