The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka has ordered the Election Commission to take measures to hold the postponed Local Government Elections immediately. The court also ruled that the fundamental rights of voters have been violated through the postponement of the 2023 Local Government Elections by the incumbent government.

Issuing its verdict on the case today, the Supreme Court ruled that the President, as the Minister of Finance, and the members of the Election Commission have violated the fundamental rights of voters.
The Supreme Court issued the verdict after taking up for consideration the petitions that were filed by several parties, including the main opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya and National Peoples’ Power on the postponement of the Local Council polls.

Responding to the verdict, Commissioner General of Elections Saman Sri Ratnayake said, the Election Commission accepts the Supreme Court’s ruling on the postponement of the Local Government Elections. Speaking to the media today, Ratnayake said that the Election Commission will convene and take a decision on the next steps to be taken concerning the election.

Mr. Ratnayake added that the Election Commission had tried its best to find a way to hold the election under the presented circumstances.
Speaking at an event at Maharagama , President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that though postponing the local government election violates people’s FRs, he was not sorry because the time was spent ensuring the right to life & committed to protecting both the right to vote & live.
The Local Government polls were earlier scheduled for March 9, 2023, but later postponed them to April 25, 2023. However, the elections were not held after the government cited a lack of funds due to the country’s recovery from its economic crisis.