Fact Check
The presidential advisor claims that all local government (LG) elections held after 1991 have been postponed, and not been held within the stipulated time.
To evaluate this claim, FactCheck.lk consulted sections 5(1) and 5(2)(b) of the Pradeshiya Sabhas Act No. 15 of 1987 (PSA), sections 10(1) and 10(2)(b) of the Municipal Councils Ordinance (MCO), sections 10(1)(b) and 10(2)(b) of the Urban Councils Ordinance (UCO), and the Parliament website.
In the above sections the “stipulated time” for LG elections in the PSA, MCO, UCO consists of two scenarios (S1 and S2) with set timelines.
- S1 has a stipulated time of 48 months, if the permitted term extensions are not invoked.
- S2 has a stipulated time of 60 months, if the permitted term extensions are invoked.
Exhibit 1 shows the dates on which all six LG elections were held. It shows that one LG election was held within the stipulated time (under S1), two were held within the stipulated time (under S2), and only two were held outside of the stipulated time.
The presidential advisor’s statement can be understood to refer to the current LG election postponement, which is also outside of the stipulated time prescribed by the law.
The presidential advisor is incorrect on two counts: (a) not all elections have been postponed, as the 2006 LG election was held within 48 months, and (b) only two and not all elections exceeded the stipulated time.
Therefore, we classify the presidential advisor’s statement as FALSE.
*FactCheck.lk’s verdict is based on the most recent information that is publicly accessible. As with every fact check, if new information becomes available, FactCheck.lk will revisit the assessment.
Additional Note:
The 2018 LG election was delayed following three Acts that served as amendments to the 1987 law. The Local Authorities (Special Provisions) Act, No. 21 of 2012, Local Authorities Elections (Amendment) Act, No. 1 of 2016 and Local Authorities Elections (Amendment) Act, No. 16 of 2017 introduced amendments to the voting system, proportional representation of women, and demarcation of wards. Legal challenges to the National Delimitation Committee report, which demarcated the new wards, resulted in delays in the conduct of the poll.
Exhibit 1: Local Government Elections – Dates
Sources
Dates of elections, Parliament: https://parliament.lk/en/dates-of-elections
Pradeshiya Sabhas Act No. 15 of 1987: https://www.parliament.lk/files/ca/12._Pradeshiya_Sabhas_Act.pdf
https://citizenslanka.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/02/Pradeshiya-Sabhas-Act-No-15-of-1987-E.pdf
Municipal Councils Ordinance: https://www.srilankalaw.lk/revised-statutes/alphabetical-list-of-statutes/1576-municipal-councils-ordinance.html
Urban Councils Ordinance: https://www.srilankalaw.lk/u/1578-urban-councils-ordinance.html
Election Milestones of the Electoral History in Sri Lanka, Centre for Monitoring Election Violence: https://cmev.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/election-milestones-of-the-electoral-history-in-sri-lanka.pdf
Extraordinary gazette on local authorities’ election ordinance http://www.documents.gov.lk/files/egz/2017/12/2047-52_E.pdf