Cannot postpone elections indefinitely over COVID-19 - Deshapriya
April 29, 2020 10:45 am
The Elections Commission of Sri Lanka should convene and take a decision regarding the conduct of the Parliamentary Elections, says Chairman of the Commission Mahinda Deshapriya.
He says holding the election should be discussed with all parties concerned.
The Chairman mentioned this joining TV Derana Breakfast Show ‘Derana Aruna’.
He points out that to hold a free and fair election, the Commission officials, candidates, and the public need at least 35 days to concentrate on election activities.
“We cannot conduct an election over dead bodies and patients due to COVID-19 outbreak”, he said.
However, in order to uphold democracy, the election cannot be postponed indefinitely over the COVID-19 outbreak, said Deshapriya.
“There needs to be a middle ground. Once transportation is freely available, it is able to hold pocket meetings, and Commission employees all can come to work, then we might be able to hold the election”, he points out.
