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General election likely in April or May next year
View(s):The National Election Commission will need a minimum of two months to prepare for a parliamentary election from the date it is declared by the President, Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya told the Sunday Times.
Mr Deshapriya said the NEC would be able to certify the 2019 electoral register by December 31.
Accordingly, if an election is called early next year, as is likely, the Commission will be able to use the 2019 register for the parliamentary elections. The 2019 presidential election was held using the 2018 electoral register, which had 15,992,096 registered voters. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa will be constitutionally empowered to dissolve the current parliament after March 1 next year when it completes 4 1/2 years of its term.
Addressing the newly sworn-in Cabinet ministers at the presidential secretariat on Friday, the President said he would take the first available opportunity offered by the constitution to go for a parliamentary election. Accordingly, if parliament is dissolved on March 2 next year, it would mean that a parliamentary elections could be held sometime in late April or early May.