COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s president has promised to hold provincial council elections next year in the island nation’s former northern war zone.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s pledge comes amid international criticism that he has failed to devolve power to the northern region since the nation’s quarter-century civil war ended in 2009. The majority of the region’s population are minority ethnic Tamils.
While presenting the government’s annual budget in Parliament Thursday, Rajapaksa said the government remains “firmly committed to conducting provincial council elections next year to facilitate democratic representation to promote peace and development.”
Sri Lanka has faced international criticism for failing to hold provincial elections in the north despite Rajapaksa telling visiting dignitaries that he would do so.
Separately, Sri Lanka’s chief justice, facing an impeachment motion filed by the government, rejected yesterday the charges against her and vowed to refute them.
The bid to impeach Chief Justice Shirani Bandaranayake, Sri Lanka’s first female head of the Supreme Court, has raised the risk of a destabilizing clash between the government and judiciary.
The confrontation follows months of deteriorating relations between the chief justice and President Mahinda Rajapaksa, with the government complaining she had over-stepped her authority and Bandaranayake’s supporters complaining of interference.
The impeachment motion, filed by the ruling party and lodged in Parliament on Tuesday, contains 14 charges ranging from undeclared assets to violating constitutional provisions.
A law firm representing Bandaranayake, Neelakandan & Neelakandan, said in a statement she had declared all her assets and received no extra pay from anywhere since being appointed chief justice.
“Clearly there has been no financial impropriety on her part,” the law firm said. “Our client totally denies the other allegations and can easily refute them.”
A Parliamentary committee will be set up to investigate the charges. Bandaranayake could be removed with a simple majority of 113 votes in the 225-member Parliament. Rajapaksa and his allies control more than two-thirds of seats.
Bandaranayake’s supporters say she has been trying to preserve the independence of the judiciary in a highly politicized environment.
She recently came under criticism for ruling against a bid by the central government to take control of a 80 billion rupees ($614.20 million) development budget, saying it had to be approved by the country’s nine provincial councils.
Elections promised for Sri Lanka’s former war zone
