කුනු හරුප ගීත හා ශෘංගාරාත්මක කලා නිර්මාන අතර වෙනස ගැන ලියන්න කියල ගත්තට ලියලත් වැඩක් නැහැ වගේ හිතෙනවා. ජාතියේ හැම පැතිකඩක්ම කඩා වැටෙද්දි, පක්ෂ විපක්ෂ භේදයකින් තොරව දේශපාලුවන් විවිධ ක්‍රම ඔස්සේ රට දූෂ්‍ය කරද්දි එක එක පක්ෂවලට තාමත් හුරේ දමන මරි මෝඩ ජනතාවට කුනුහරුප සිංදු හැර ප්‍රබුද්ධ හෝ සරල රස වින්දන සිංදු දැනේවිද! තම මෑනි, මනුස්සයා යුද්ධ කරද්දි, තමන්ව අවජාතන කල දුකට ශිෂ්නයේ සයිස් එක ගැන සිංදු කීමට දෛර්ය ගත් යොහානිට පට්ට (ග)වේසි නිල නාමය ලබා දුන්නත් අපේ නම් කිසි මෙව්ව එකක් නැක.
CHAPTER XVII
THE FRANCHISE AND THE GENERAL ELECTION
130. (1) Every person shall, unless disqualified as hereinafter provided, be qualified to be an elector at the General Election, by-election or to vote at any Referendum:
Provided that no such person shall be entitled to vote unless his name is entered in the appropriate Register of Electors.
(2) No person shall be qualified to be an elector at General Election, by-election, or to vote at any Referendum, if he is subject to any of the following disqualifications, namely:
(a) if he is not a Citizen
of Sri Lanka;
(b) if he has not attained the age of eighteen years on the date of
proclamation of the Election, by-election, or referendum;
(c) if he is under any law in force in Sri Lanka found or declared to be of
unsound mind;
(d) if he is under Civic Disability.
(1) The
candidate shall be a Citizen of Sri Lanka, and shall not be a Citizen of any
other country;
(2) The candidate shall be not less than twenty one years old;
(3) The candidate shall not be over sixty five years old at the time of nomination;
(4) The candidate shall have successfully completed the post-secondary education of the national framework of education;
(5) The candidate shall not be under any law in force in Sri Lanka found or declared to be of unsound mind;
(6) The candidate shall not be under any Civic Disability;
(7) The candidate shall not be serving or not have served in any court as a judge or in any independent Commission as a member, or in any armed force of Sri Lanka during the last five years;
(8) A member shall not be a member of both Parliament and a Local Council at the same time.
(9) President or Vice President shall not be a Member of Parliament or a member of a Local Council;
(10)A candidate shall not be a person who has been condemned to death or lifetime sentence by a competent court, who has been given the Presidential Pardon;
(11)A candidate contesting or being nominated for the first time shall be required to participate in the one-day educational workshop on politics, law, and good governance, conducted by Elections Commission. The same workshop should be conducted in at least three different days so that a candidate may participate in one of the workshops at his convenience;
(12)A candidate shall not be a person who has been convicted of a bribery or corruption by a competent court unless he has been pardoned free by the President and not less than seven years have elapsed since such pardon received; and
(13)Any
person so elected or appointed subject to the provisions of this Article shall
be automatically removed if or when any of the conditions mentioned is breached
after such election or appointment; and in such situation, the vacancy shall be
filled in as soon as possible in accordance with the law.
132. The voting for the election and at any Referendum shall be free, equal, and by secret ballot.
133. There shall be one General Election conducted by Elections Commission to elect Members to Parliament and to Local Councils.
134. Elections Commission shall proclaim a General Election at the expiry of the four year’s tenure of the current Parliament or at the moment President dissolves Parliament, and shall conduct a free and fair General Election within not more than six weeks.
135.
(1) Recognized Political Parties registered not
less than two months before a proclamation of an election, as such at Elections
Commission and Independent Political Groups registered within a week after a
proclamation of an election, as such at Elections Commission may contest at the
election.
(2) A registered political party which contests at the election shall present
Nominations of Candidates at least for one whole Province (“Provincial
Electorate”).
(3) An independent political group which contests at the election shall present
Nominations of Candidates at least for one whole Locality (“Local Electorate”).
(4) Nominations of Candidates shall be separately submitted within two weeks
from the date of proclamation of General Election by Elections Commission, for
each Locality to the Returning Officer of that Locality, as two lists of
nominations of candidates to be elected to Parliament and to be elected to
Local Council, respectively.
(5) At least thirty five percent of the Candidates to be elected as Local
Members shall be women, and at least thirty five percent of the Candidates to
be elected as Members of Parliament shall be women.
(6) At least forty percent of Candidates shall be below the age of forty five
years in both women and men.
(7) In calculations as per the paragraphs of (5) and (6) of this Article, a
fractional number if any shall lose its decimal part (truncation).
137. Elections Commission requires to ensure:
(1) That
registered political party shall have an internal democratic mechanism written
in Party’s Articles which shall be a public document, to elect Chairman and
Secretary of such party;
(2) That
registered political parties and independent political groups shall submit
estimated proposed budget with receipts and expense of funds for the coming
elections within a week since the proclamation of a General Election, and
finalized true detailed budget with receipts and expense of funds for the
concluded elections, internally audited by a competent auditor within two weeks
after the conclusion of the election;
(3) To
submit to National Audit Commission all such documents as mentioned in the
paragraph (2) of this Article to be audited;
(4) That
distribution of goods or services to the people either at the expense of the State
or private entities during the Election period shall not be carried out by the
trustee government headed by President, incumbent Public Service, or contesting
candidates or their campaigns;
(5) That
State assets and resources shall not be used by or utilized in a manner to
support any contesting party or candidate;
(6) That
State-owned mass media shall be impartial and fair to all contesting parties
and candidates;
(7) That
private-owned mass media shall be impartial and fair to all contesting parties
and candidates; provided that such media may support a particular political
group by prior writing to Elections Commission about their political
affiliation.
(8) To
make the election more democratic and free from corruption by imposing a threshold
budged values, above which no political party or group or a Candidate contesting
the elections shall spend:
Provided that in case of violation of this provision, the Commission shall have
the power to indict in the Special High Court secretary, chairman, and
treasurer of such political party or group in case of political party or group,
or to indict the Candidate in case of the Candidate, and such accused persons
shall be subjected to a Civic Disability not more than five years if convicted.
(9) That
a political party or group or a Candidate shall not receive any donation or
contribution from a government department, a public corporation, or a company
registered under the Companies Act in which the government or a public
corporation owns any shares, a foreign government or any State entity of such
foreign government, an international organization or a body corporate
incorporated or registered outside Sri Lanka, and any donor or contributor whose
identity is not disclosed:
Provided that in case of violation of this provision, the Commission shall have
the power to indict in the Special High Court secretary, chairman, and
treasurer of such political party or group in case of political party or group,
or to indict the Candidate in case of the Candidate, and such accused persons
shall be subjected to a Civic Disability not more than five years if convicted.
138. The election of Members to Local Council shall be as follows.
(1) A
registered political party or an independent group in accordance with the
provisions of this Constitution shall nominate one candidate to each Division
(“Divisional Electorate”), and shall list all such nominations for an entire Locality
plus three more Candidates (known as “Local List Members”) who shall not be
bound to any Division, in one paper to be submitted to the Returning Officer;
such submissions shall be separately made to each Locality, if a party or group
contests for such Locality;
(2) Electors
may cast his vote in favor of only one Candidate in the Division; elector shall
be presented only the list of Candidates in his Division;
(3) Elections
Commission shall have Candidate’s full name and photograph be displayed with
the symbol of his political party or group in front, inter alia, in the
ballot paper; elector does not have to cast a vote in favor of a political
party or group;
(4) The
Candidate of Division who has obtained the most votes in the Division shall be
elected by Elections Commission to Local Council; if a tie occurs among two or
more Candidates, the party or group which obtains the highest votes in the
whole Locality shall win;
(5) The
political party or group who obtains the most votes shall be entitled to elect
one Local Member to Local Council from the three seats of Local List Members;
(6) The Commission shall portion the remaining two seats of Local List Members as follows:
(a) count all the validly cast votes in favor of each political party and group
in the Locality, to which Candidates belong (known as “cast votes”);
(b) divide such cast votes by the number of Divisions of the Locality
(resulting number known as “Division Proportionality Number”);
(c) select the two mostly polled political parties or groups whose Candidates
in any Division have not been elected to Local Council and whose total valid
votes obtained exceeds the division proportionality number, and apportion the
two remaining seats of Local List Members to such two parties or groups.
(d) if, in the operation of provisions of subparagraph (6)(c) of this Article,
any political party or group is not qualified as such, Elections Commission
shall apportion the remaining two seats of Local List Members in proportion to
the total votes obtained by political parties or groups in the Locality.
(7) A
defeated Candidate may be elected by Elections Commission on the advice of the
Secretary of the political party or group as a Member in lieu of election of a
Member in the Local List.
139. The election of Members to Parliament is as follows.
(1) A
registered political party or an independent group in accordance with the
provisions of this Constitution shall nominate three candidates to each Locality,
and shall list all such nominations for an entire Province, plus three more
Candidates (known as “Provincial List Members”) who shall not be bound to any Locality,
in one paper to be submitted to the Assistant Elections Commissioner in the Province;
and such submissions shall be made to each Province separately if a party or group
contests in such Province;
(2) In
addition to the nominations as per the paragraph (1) of this Article, a
registered political party or an independent group shall submit to Elections
Commission a National List with fifteen candidates who shall, in addition to
the qualifications required by the Constitution, be having a postgraduate
degree;
(3) Each
elector firstly shall cast his vote in favor of the name of his chosen
political party or group, and secondly shall mark his preferences for two
Candidates in the chosen party or group. Elector shall mark his two preferences
to two different Candidates. If an elector only votes in favor of the name of
his chosen party or group without marking two preferences, such vote shall be
deemed to be invalid to elect a Member of Parliament;
(4) Elections
Commission shall have Candidate’s name and photograph be displayed along with
the symbol of the political party or group he belongs to, inter alia, in
the ballot paper. Elector shall be presented only the list of Candidates in his
Locality;
(5) The
political party or group who obtains the highest votes in a Locality shall be
entitled to one seat in Parliament, and Elections Commission shall elect as a Member
of Parliament the Candidate who has obtained the highest preference in such
party or group; if a tie occurs among two or more parties or groups, the party
or group who obtains the highest votes in the whole Province shall win; if a
tie occurs among two or more Candidates, one Candidate shall be selected by
drawing lots.
(6) Elections
Commission shall calculate the modulo (mathematical operation) of the total
votes obtained by a party or group by half of the total valid cast votes in a Locality,
and elect the Candidate who could obtain the highest preference of that party
or group which has the highest remainder obtained through the modulo
calculation:
Provided that if the same political party or group which was selected by
operation of provision of paragraph (5) of this Article is entitled to the
second seat of the Locality, then the Candidate who has obtained the second
most preferences shall be elected as Member of Parliament;
Further provided that a tie occurs, the political party or group who obtains
the highest votes in the whole Province shall win;
(7) Elections
Commission shall apportion the three seats of Provincial List Members as
follows.
(a) One seat shall be given to the political party or group which obtains the
highest number of seats in the Province by operation of paragraphs (5) and (6)
of this Article; if a tie occurs, the political party or group which obtains
the highest votes in the Province shall win.
(b) One seat shall be given to a political party or group which has not already
obtained a seat in the Province by operation of paragraphs of (5) and (6) of
this Article, but has obtained the highest votes among others in that Province.
(c) one seat to the political party or group which has obtained the highest
seats in Parliament including the seats by operation of the National List provided
that such party or group already has not two thirds of the total seats in
Parliament; or such seat shall be given to the political party or group who has
obtained the next highest seats in Parliament if the government party has
already obtained two thirds of the total seats in Parliament;
(8) A defeated Candidate in the Province may be elected by Elections Commission on the advice of the Secretary of the political party or group as a Member in lieu of election of a Member in the Provincial Member List;
(9) Elections
Commission shall elect fifteen Members from National List such that the total
validly cast votes shall be divided by fifteen (the resulting number known as
“national proportionality number”), then the total votes obtained by a
political party or group shall be divided by the national proportionality
number (such calculation known as “qualifying calculation”), and the quotient
of such division shall in the first round, be the number of seats such party or
group shall be entitled; and if, after such apportionment of the seats, still
one or several seats remain, the remainder values obtained in the qualifying
calculation shall be sorted, and the remaining seats shall, in the second
round, be given one for each highest value;
(10)The
order of names in the National List shall be significant because Elections
Commission shall appoint Members to Parliament from such List in the given
order; and no other person outside the List, including those who have been
defeated in election shall be appointed.
(1) If
Local Member who vacated the seat was elected from a Division, and the
unexpired tenure of such Local Council is not less than two years, a
by-election shall be conducted by the Elections Commission to elect a new
Member to fill in such vacancy:
Provided that the unexpired tenure of such Local Council is less than two
years, the vacancy shall not be filled in, and the Local Council shall continue
to proceed.
Further provided that the number of such vacancies becomes one third of total
seats in Local Council, Local Council shall be automatically dissolved and
Governor of the related Province shall assume its responsibilities and duties
until next General Election.
(2) If Local Member who vacated the seat was
elected from the Local Member List, the secretary of related political party or
group shall nominate the next Candidate in the List or a defeated Candidate in
the Locality.
141. Vacancy of seat in Parliament shall be entertained by Elections Commission in the following manner.
(1) If
Member of Parliament who vacated the seat was elected from the National List, then
Elections Commission shall appoint the next in the relevant National List.
(2) If
Member of Parliament who vacated the seat was elected in accordance with the
provision of paragraphs (5) or (6) of Article 139, then the next Candidate in
the same Locality shall be appointed as the Member of Parliament by Elections
Commission:
Provided that if appointment of all three candidates is already exhausted, a
by-election shall be held for the Locality by Elections Commission if the
unexpired tenure is not less than twelve months at the time of occurrence of
vacancy;
Further provided that if appointment of all three candidates is already
exhausted and unexpired tenure is less than twelve months, the Parliament shall
proceed normally notwithstanding such vacancy until next General Election.
(3) If
Member of Parliament who vacated the seat was elected in accordance with the
provision of paragraph (7) of Article 135, then the next Candidate in the Provincial
Member List or a defeated Candidate in the Province on advice by the secretary
of the relevant political party or group shall be appointed as Member of
Parliament by the Elections Commission.
142. A by-election shall be conducted by the Elections Commission in the same manner, mutatis mutandis, a General Election shall be conducted if:
(1) A
Local Council is dissolved and unexpired tenure is not less than twenty four
months, to elect new Members to the dissolved Local Council.
(2) A
vacancy of seat in Parliament or a Local Council happens in such a way a
by-election shall be required as per the provisions of such situations.
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