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Presidential poll: NEC at variance with Sirisena over date
The National Election Commission (NEC) is at variance with President Maithripala Sirisena’s announcement in New Delhi that the presidential election will be held on December 7.
A poll will not be possible on that date though it is a Saturday, due to a string of administrative issues, an NEC source said on condition of anonymity. “We cannot take a chance,” the source added.
Since all other Saturdays available are in November, a statutory requirement, it would have to be held that month, the source said. Speaking at a news conference in New Delhi, President Sirisena declared that the presidential election would be held on December 7 – a declaration which was widely reported in the Indian media. He said he had not yet decided on his candidature and added that no others had done so either.
NEC officials say that in terms of existing provisions of the law, a presidential election would have to be called for on or before October 20 unless the incumbent President announces it ahead.