Plans are under way to overcome obstacles related to the Provincial Councils Act and hold the long overdue Provincial Council Election under a mixed system by the end of the year.
A senior official of the Public Services, Provincial Councils and Local Government Ministry said the existing law will be amended shortly to make way to hold the election.
President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has called upon the relevant officials to expedite the process to the election, after meeting SLPP Provincial Councillors at the Presidential Secretariat on Friday afternoon.
A program to bring in a new system of election adopted by the previous Government was abandoned midway leading to a three-year delay in holding the election.
According to the existing law, amended by the last Government, the elections cannot be held under the old system. Therefore, the Ministry is planning to bring in a new amendment to facilitate early elections to appoint the members to the Councils which have been defunct.
The UvaProvincial Council was the last to end its term 18 months ago, according to the sources. A senior Election Department official said the election is likely to be held under a mixed system and the 25 percent quota reserved for female candidates at the nominations will also remain. The official said they needed at least three months to prepare for the election, especially, if it is to be held under a new system, which would require altering the format of the ballot paper and other related work. Therefore, he ruled out the possibility of holding the election in July.