A petition has been filed with the Supreme Court challenging the decision to hold the General Election on November 14, claiming that it violates the Constitution.
The petition was submitted by H.M. Priyantha Herath, a civil society activist and convenor of the “Api Sri Lanka” national organization.
The respondents named in the petition include the Attorney General, the Secretary to the President, the Chairman of the Election Commission, and its members.
The petitioner argues that under Section 10 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, the nomination period was set between October 4 and October 11. According to the Act, the election date should be scheduled no less than five weeks and no more than seven weeks from the closing of nominations.
Since the nomination period ended on October 11, the five-week period would conclude on November 15, and the seven-week period would end on November 29. Therefore, the petitioner contends that scheduling the election on November 14 falls outside the legal timeframe and is unlawful.
The petition further states that efforts were made to notify the Chairman of the Election Commission regarding this issue, but no action was taken.
The petitioner requests the Supreme Court to declare that the decision to hold the election on November 14 violates the people’s sovereignty and the Constitution. Additionally, the petitioner seeks appropriate orders from the Court to rectify the decision.
