Lanka's provincial polls delay feud widens as elections body chief warns to resign

Sri Lanka's Elections Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya on Monday threatened to resign if the long-delayed provincial council's elections were not held before November 10. He said that six out of the nine provincial councils, the highest level of local government, were up to 16 months overdue undermining democracy. The election watchdogs have criticised the government for the delay. Three more council terms are also to end soon.

"If the election could not be held before November 10, I will resign from my position," Deshapriya told reporters here. He said he will remain within the elections commission, but not as the chairperson.

His threat to resign means that he wants the provincial elections to be held before this year's presidential election, which must be declared by November and held before early January 2020. The delay is due to a legal snag when the electoral system reforms were introduced.

Last year's February local council elections were held under the new hybrid system of proportional and first past the post systems. The existing provincial councils were elected solely on a proportional system based election system. The report compiled by the delimitation committee to hold the provincial council elections under the new system was defeated in parliament last year.

The opposition headed by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa has accused the government of delaying the elections due to fear of defeat. Rajapaksa's new party swept the board in the local council elections held in February last year under the new hybrid system. Political party sources say they would opt to hold the provincial election under the previous proportional system of elections. The Joint Opposition said they would petition the court to force the election.

Provincial Councils, established under a power-sharing deal aimed at addressing minority demands for limited political autonomy in 1987, are a crucial test of popularity ahead of national elections.

(With inputs from agencies.)