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Sweeping electoral reforms on the cards
By Shelani Perera
The Parliament Select Committee on Electoral Reforms has reached a consensus on reintroducing ward system for local councils. The committee, which held 12 sittings, is due to hand over a preliminary report before the deadline of January 31 and is likely to ask for more time to present the full report, an official said.

The committee is also recommending the German model blending the PR system with the first-past-the-post process for general elections and that the National Identity Card be made compulsory for voter registration and polling. The official said that with the introduction of the National Identity Card, the annual re-registration of voters would not be necessary and costs could be significantly reduced.

The committee will also further study the proposed electronic voting system with an Indian company giving a demonstration. The official said they might recommend that electronic voting be tried out in one district at provincial elections. He said India and several other Asian countries had gone in for electronic voting which is known to help reduce rigging and other malpractices. The officials of the Indian company were in Sri Lanka recently for a demonstration of the system.

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