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Parliamentary elections likely in early August
The Election Commission (EC) is considering conducting parliamentary elections in early August, Election Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya told the Sunday Times.
He said the final decision on the date of the elections would be taken when the Commission met on Monday.
“We will also decide on releasing the preference numbers of candidates on Monday,” he said.
The EC, meanwhile, is examining a proposal by the health authorities to restrict political meetings addressed by party leaders to a maximum of one meeting for a district, with only 500 people attending while maintaining a physical space of one metre between them.
An important aspect of such meetings is the requirement that personal records of those taking part should be maintained. These should include names and phone numbers. Pocket meetings, the polls chief said, would be restricted to 100 people.
Mr Deshapriya said the EC would meet on Monday to determine the date for the parliamentary elections. It is expected to be in the first or second week of August, according to official sources.
The polls chief also said he would gazette the long-awaited list of candidates on Monday together with numbers allotted to them for preference votes. This will formally signify the start of the polls campaign.
The EC Chairman said there would be an increase in the number of polling booths and counting centres. No wooden boxes would be used this time. Instead, he said, the ballot boxes would be made of cardboard.
Counting of votes and preference votes would be done in two stages with the counting of party votes on the first day soon after polling ends and the preference votes on the following day.