The National Election Commission will convene for a special round of discussions related to the Local Government Election on the 7th of March.
Elections Commissioner General Saman Sri Ratnayake said members of the Commission have been informed of the meeting.
The Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, the Government Printer and the Inspector General of Police have been summoned for the meeting.
The Commission is set to reach a final decision on the date to hold the Local Government Election next week.
The Commission convened yesterday (3) to discuss rescheduling the Local Government Election, however, following the order issued by the Supreme Court, the decision was postponed.
Chairman of Elections Nimal Punchihewa said a rescheduled date will be announced before the 9th of March after talks with the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance and the Government Printer.
The Supreme Court yesterday issued an order preventing the Secretary of the Ministry of Finance from withholding funds allocated for the conduct of elections through the 2023 Budget.
The order was issued by a three member bench comprising judges Preethi Padman Surasena, Janak de Silva and Priyantha Fernando when a petition fled by General Secretary of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara was taken up for consideration.
An injunction order was issued against Minister of Finance President Ranil Wickremesinghe and Treasury Secretary Mahinda Siriwardena from holding funds for the conduct of the Local Government Election.
An order was also issued to release funds retained for the printing of ballot papers.
A petition was filed by the MP against the decision to release funds to the Election Commission that has been allocated for the conduct of elections through the 2023 Budget.
The petition stated that the fundamental rights of citizens have been violated through the decision to not disburse funds.
The petition called for an order to be issued that the decision by the Secretary of the Treasury and other respondents is a violation of basic rights.
The Secretary of the Ministry of Finance, the Chairman of the Election Commission and its members and several others have been cited as respondents in the petition.
