Intervening petition filed in President's application seeking court opinion on PC polls

An intervening petition has been filed at the Supreme Court claiming that it would be advisable to conduct the provincial elections after the Presidential poll. 

The petition had been filed with reference to President Maithripala Sirisena's application seeking a court ruling on the law under which the provincial elections could be held. 

President Sirisena had moved the Court to determine whether the polls could be conducted under the Proportional Representation (PR) system which existed before the Provincial Councils (Amendment) Act was passed in 2017. 

Sirisena Dolawatte, the intervening petitioner had said that the provincial elections should be held under the PR system which existed before 2017.

The President's application would be taken up for consideration before a five-member judge bench led by Chief Justice Jayantha Jayasuriya. The outcome is expected to be conveyed to the President before the end of this month.