Forgotten PC polls

The Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) has called upon the NPP government to hold the Provincial Council (PC) polls, which the UNP-led Yahapalana government caused to disappear without a trace about eight years ago.

- 

Since the indefinite postponement of the PC polls in 2017, we have had four Presidents and three governments, and there have been six elections. The PCs have been under the Provincial Governors appointed by the President.

Some political commentators have rightly pointed out that the Opposition politicians who are claiming that legal action against former President Ranil Wickremesinghe for alleged misuse of state funds is tantamount to an attack on democracy have forgotten how Wickremesinghe undermined democracy, while in power. They have recalled the non-allocation of funds for the local government polls on some flimsy pretext during Wickremesinghe’s presidency in 2023. Besides, Wickremesinghe was a powerful Minister in President J. R. Jayewardene’s government, which resorted to large-scale vote rigging and political violence to win elections. What we witnessed under that repressive regime was the very antithesis of democracy.