The Election Commission (EC) is to meet today (12) to discuss the issue of the vacant seat in Parliament due to the death of former Minister Salinda Dissanayake.
Chairman of the Elections Commission, Mahinda Deshapriya says all matters related to the parliamentary seat would be discussed today and a final decision would be made on who should be appointed to the vacant seat.
Controversy surrounds the move to fill the vacant parliamentary seat by the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) with the appointment of MP Shantha Bandara.
At the time of Dissanayake’s demise, Bandara was a representative in parliament as a national list MP of the UPFA.
However, soon after Dissanayake’s death, UPFA National List MP Shantha Bandara resigned from his seat last week to fill the vacant seat in Parliament.
Meanwhile, former North Western Provincial Councillor D.B. Herath had obtained the highest number of preferential votes after Bandara in the last general election from the Kurunegala District.
The argument that has been put forward to the EC is that since Bandara was a parliamentarian at the time of Dissanayake’s death, the vacant seat should be allocated to Herath, who is next in line in the Kurunegala list.
Deshapriya says there were matters to be discussed from both sides.
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