by Our Correspondent in Colombo
Sri Lanka’s Government has rejected what it described as attempts by foreign countries to pressure Colombo over the holding of long-delayed Provincial Council elections, as a senior minister said the Government would proceed with the proposed 22nd Constitutional Amendment despite opposition from sections of the legal community.
Agriculture, Lands and Irrigation Minister K.D. Lal Kantha said foreign governments had no right to pressure Sri Lanka to conduct Provincial Council elections, arguing that Sri Lanka was an independent country and that other states could express their views but could not dictate its decisions.
“There is no right for foreign countries to put pressure on the Government to hold Provincial Council elections. This is an independent country. They can express their views on the matter, but they cannot exert pressure,” Lal Kantha told journalists following an event in Gannoruwa on August 13.
His remarks come against the backdrop of repeated calls from India for Sri Lanka to hold the elections and fully implement the constitutional provisions on devolution.
Indian Foreign Secretary Vikram Misri said last week that India continued to attach importance to the holding of Provincial Council elections as part of efforts to address issues concerning Sri Lanka’s Tamil community. India has repeatedly linked the elections to the implementation of the 13th Amendment to Sri Lanka’s Constitution, which established the Provincial Council system.
New Delhi’s position was reiterated publicly during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s discussions with President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, with India calling for the “full and effective” implementation of the Sri Lankan Constitution and the holding of Provincial Council elections.
India has maintained this position for several years. During a 2021 visit to Sri Lanka, then Foreign Secretary Harsh Vardhan Shringla reiterated India’s call for the complete implementation of the 13th Amendment, including the holding of Provincial Council elections at the earliest.
The issue has acquired renewed significance because Sri Lanka has been without functioning elected Provincial Councils for several years. The elections have been repeatedly delayed amid unresolved questions concerning the electoral system and the delimitation of constituencies.
Lal Kantha said the Government had no objection to holding the elections and that the principal obstacle was the unresolved delimitation issue. “If there was no problem with the delimitation of Provincial Council constituencies, we would hold the election. We have no problem with it,” he said, adding that the Government would work to resolve the issue quickly and conduct the polls.
The minister also defended the Government’s decision to proceed with the proposed 22nd Constitutional Amendment, which seeks to extend the retirement age of judges of the Supreme Court from 65 to 67 and that of Court of Appeal judges from 63 to 65.
“There is no opposition from ordinary people in the country to the proposed 22nd Amendment,” Lal Kantha said, describing it as a matter covered by the mandate given to the Government by voters. He said the principal opposition had come from members of the legal profession and certain other groups.
The Government’s position has nevertheless generated controversy, with the proposed judicial changes facing objections from sections of the legal community, opposition parties and other groups concerned about their implications for the independence of the judiciary.
The two issues — judicial reform and Provincial Council elections — have placed the Government at the centre of two separate debates over constitutional governance. While the Government insists that both matters fall within its domestic mandate, India’s continuing interest in the Provincial Council system demonstrates that the question of devolution remains an important component of bilateral relations.
For Colombo, the challenge is therefore not simply whether the elections will eventually be held, but how the Government manages the constitutional, political and diplomatic pressures surrounding them without allowing an issue rooted in Sri Lanka’s domestic political system to become a wider dispute over sovereignty and foreign influence.
Lal Kantha also said the forthcoming Budget would provide a range of relief measures, particularly for farmers, while indicating that public-sector employees would receive salary increases. He added that the Government was paying particular attention to taxation as it prepares its fiscal proposals.
