The Paffrel organization is expressing its concern about the approval of the Cabinet to amend the existing electoral system so that the parliamentary elections can be held on a single seat system. The organization says that this attempt may be an act to postpone the election.
Under the proposed amendments approved by the Cabinet, 160 Members of Parliament will be elected directly from constituencies, while the remaining 65 seats will be allocated at the national or provincial level through a proportional voting system.
Rohana Hettiarachchi, executive director of PAFRAL, said in a press conference that the election process was in jeopardy due to Sri Lanka’s previous electoral reforms.
“The local government and provincial council elections that were postponed for two years are a good example of that. Therefore, we have doubts that the proposed action to amend the electoral system may lead to the delay of the elections,” he said.
He also said that the election authorities had to postpone the elections due to the delay in completing the delimitation process.