An election held in the midst of a pandemic will cause a catastrophe - Mangala

Former Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweera cautions that a parliamentary election held in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic has the potential to cause a catastrophe in the country by exposing the populace to further infection from the virus. 

Issuing a statement, Mr Samaraweera points out that an election is not simply about going to a polling booth and marking one's preference. "During the election process, every party and candidate has to focus on holding meetings with voters. We need to campaign from house-to-house, distribute leaflets, brief voters on the policies of our respective parties. Tens of thousands of candidates must also campaign to make people aware about their preference number," he pointed out. 

Mr Samaraweera also notes that many schools must be opened on polling day for voters to cast their ballots. Meanwhile, government officials who are on election duty must then confine themselves to a limited number of buildings for between 48 to 72 hours to count the ballots. 

"This is why we are saying that an election held urgently will result in all the sacrifices made by our people over the past month going to waste."

The former minister insisted that they had no intention of holding an election over the dead bodies of people and said that all candidates, irrespective of their party, should ask the question from their own conscience. 

"We also do not endorse postponing elections indefinitely. However, if we go for an election before medical experts in this country and bodies such as the World Health Organization acknowledge that the country is 100% free of this virus, we might be paving the way for a massive catastrophe," he stressed. 

Mr Samaraweera also observed that until an election is held, the President had the power to recall Parliament if the Government needed to pass additional funding in the fight against COVID-19. 

"As a responsible Opposition, we are prepared to offer our full support to pass any further funding required if the President takes on the responsibility during this period and recalls Parliament," he assured.