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Transport, Highways, Ports and Civil Aviation Minister Bimal Rathnayake said that it is expected that the Election Commission will take steps to hold the Local Government (LG) polls in the second or fourth week of April.
The Minister made this statement during a press conference that was held in Jaffna on Sunday (26) and said that all political parties have jointly submitted to Parliament the draft Bill for the amendment of the Local Authorities Elections Act to conduct the LG Polls.
Minister Rathnayake said that with the agreement of the leaders of all parties, the Government has submitted a Bill to Parliament regarding the conducting of the LG polls stating that currently, there are a number of petitions that have been submitted in the courts by several parties. He said that however, these petitions will not be an obstacle for holding the LG elections and mentioned that the court will deliver its verdict at a time when it decides, but the court has a limited number of days to deliver the verdict.
Minister Rathnayake said that therefore, they are hoping that the Election Commission will take necessary steps to hold the LG polls in the second or fourth week of April, as the Government hopes to hold these LG elections in the country without postponing the elections any longer.
Varuna Dayaratne
