Finance secretary says President must permit release of funds for election

COLOMBO (News 1st) - The Election Commission stated that it has sent a letter to President Ranil Wickramasinghe requesting that the necessary funds to conduct the local government election be provided.

The Election Commission further mentioned that the letter was sent to the President who is also the Minister of Finance of the country.

They added that the letter sent to the Minister of Finance was forwarded for approval by the secretary to the Ministry of Finance to the Finance Minister.

Meanwhile, the Chairman of the Election Commission Nimal Punchihewa, says that with the current situation taken into consideration, the secretary of the Ministry of Finance has informed him that his approval itself is insufficient for the release of funds for the election.

The Secretary to the Ministry of Finance has informed in his letter that the approval of the President in his capacity as the Minister of Finance is mandatory to release the funds required for the local government election.

Due to the lack of funds, the local government election scheduled to be held on the 9th of March was postponed indefinitely.

The election is now scheduled to be held on 25th of April, 2023.