EC seeks Rs 30 bn for polls next year

By Rathindra Kuruwita

The Election Commission (EC) has asked the Treasury for Rs. 30 billion for elections in 2024, Commissioner General of Elections (CGE), Saman Sri Ratnayake says.However, the Constitutional Council (CC) had not yet appointed all members to the Elections Commission, Ratnayake said.

According to the CGE, only four out of five members have been appointed to the EC so far.Given that the quorum was only three, the commissioners were carrying out their duties and functions, Ratnayake said, adding that the Presidential Commission of Inquiry tasked with investigating existing election laws and regulations and recommending changes had not yet approached the EC for discussions. President Ranil Wickremesinghe appointed the commission.

Ratnayake added that a few years before the Commission had sought public opinion on changes to the election laws.

“We believe that deposits should be increased for those contesting presidential, general and provincial council elections. We have proposed this. Steps are being taken to draft a law.” he said.

A candidate from a political party contesting for a provincial council does not need to place a deposit, he said. The Commission has suggested that such a candidate place a deposit of 10,000 rupees that will be repaid and a 1,000 rupee deposit that will not be rebated.

“We also suggested the same for a candidate from a political party contesting the general elections. We believe that a person contesting the presidential election must make a deposit of 2.6 million rupees. 2.5 million rupees of the deposit will be repaid following the election. We also suggested that an independent

candidate must place a deposit of 3.1 million rupees, out of which 3 million rupees will be returned.”

Thirty five candidates contested the 2019 presidential election. In 2015, there were 19 candidates, Ratnayake said.

“Most people don’t understand how the number of candidates affects our expenses. The length of the ballot paper is determined by the number of candidates, which in turn determines how many ballot papers can be accommodated in a ballot box. The number of ballot boxes we need determine the size of the polling centre. It also determines what kind of a vehicle is needed to transport ballot boxes to a polling centre. We also need to treat all candidates equally, which means more staff. Spending a lot wouldn’t matter if there was real competition among these candidates, but we all know that there are only a handful of real players involved,” he said.

The Commissioner General of Elections added that they have asked the Treasury to allocate funding to hold a presidential, provincial, and local government elections in 2024.

“There are no scheduled elections in Sri Lanka. Provincial councils have not been held for years, but those in power can hold them anytime they want. So in the past few years, when a Budget is being prepared, and we are asked by the Treasury to provide an estimate, we always ask for funding to hold the provincial elections. We have asked for 30 billion rupees for these elections. We have also told the Treasury that a general election will cost 11 billion rupees. If the President dissolves Parliament, he is anyway bound by the Constitution to provide us with money,” he said.