Sinhala professors file petitions challenging the amended Local Elections Bill

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 27 October 2010, 16:51 GMT]
Two professors of Sri Lanka Peradeniya University have filed petitions in the Supreme Court separately seeking the court to declare the amended Local Government Authority Bill is contrary to the constitution. The petitioners Professors Navaratna Bandara and Ranjit Amerasinghe have named the Attorney General as the respondent.

The petitioners say that minor parties and independent groups will be treated unjustly due to the reforms implemented through the proposed draft bill. It will also prove highly difficult for minor parties to receive their representation, they said,

The petitioners beg that the Supreme Court should issue an order that the bill receives a 2/3 majority of votes in Parliament and that a referendum should be held before the bill is passed.

Meanwhile, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is also billed to file a petition challenging the constitutionality of the amended Local Government Authority Bill in the Supreme Court.