Election watchdogs urge Govt to resolve issues over fixing date for General Elections

Seven Election watchdogs have urged government authorities to resolve issues regarding fixing a new election date for Parliamentary elections with the mutual understanding and not creating a constitutional crisis against the backdrop of COVID19, a joint statement said.

All active election observation missions in Sri Lanka, including People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL)  and Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV), have issued a joint statement saying that it is undesirable to head into an election with the Election Commission and the Executive at odds with each other

“An environment of relief provision to those affected by crisis is not ideal for an election campaign as it can be exploited by candidates for their own political gain, as can already be seen,” the statement said.

The Election monitoring bodies also noted that the National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak and health authorities must confirm that the new election date will not put voters and election officials at risk.