PRESIDENT/ GOSL !!! IMPLEMENT CONSTITUTIONAL COUNCIL NOW!!! OTHERWISE NOBODY TRUST YOU!!!

PAFFREL to lobby President, judiciary for CC

By Kelum Bandara

The People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) said it had decided to increase its pressure on the government to implement the Constitutional Council (CC), thereby paving the way for the appointment of the independent police and

election councils before the next presidential or general election. The CC has remained defunct since 2005 due to the controversy over a nominee to represent the minority parties in Parliament.

Deputy Executive Director of PAFFREL, Rohana Hettiarachchi, told Daily Mirror yesterday that numerous elections are on the cards now, and therefore the reconstitution of the CC is absolutely essential, to ensure free and fair polls.

“We have several options. Our organization can meet President Mahinda Rajajapksa and request him to take the necessary steps to set up the CC. Or else, we can seek redress from the judiciary to break the deadlock in reactivating the CC. However, we are yet to decide on our course of action,” he said.

Mr. Hettiarachchi said that his organization had made some suggestions in the past as well, but there had been no positive response from the authorities concerned. The country witnessed an increase in violence at the recent polls, and the political parties blamed the dangerous trend on the police. At the election to the Western Provincial Council, there were two murder cases as well.
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