New laws needed to ensure election promises are fulfilled – Commission General

The Commissioner General of Elections, Saman Sri Ratnayake, stated that if the promises made during an election are not fulfilled afterward, voters have the right to question that.

Speaking at a press conference today (26), he emphasized the need for amendments to election laws to support this.

He pointed out that the country’s current electoral system does not include a system for a recall election, highlighting the necessity of such reforms.

Further commenting on the matter, Saman Sri Ratnayake noted that the tradition in the country is that once a political party is elected, the public spends few years criticizing it until the next election, and the cycle repeats.

He added that the people believe their responsibilities end once the party is elected. “That is not the case. As citizens, we have an absolute responsibility to ensure that the representatives we elect fulfill the duties. If they fail to do so, we have the right to hold them accountable.” 

“In our country, questioning elected representatives is usually limited to the period until a new election. To change this, election laws must be amended. Currently, there is no recall mechanism in our electoral system, which is an issue that needs reform. Such changes should be introduced in the new election law amendments,” Ratnayake said. 

The Commissioner General further commented that in the country, people act more as consumers than as voters.