Government Ready to Hold Provincial Council Elections Once New Electoral System Is Approved
16-Jul-2026.
The Government is prepared to conduct Provincial Council elections as soon as Parliament approves the proposed new electoral system, and there is no shortage of funds to hold the polls, Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Nalinda Jayatissa said.
Addressing the post-Cabinet media briefing on July 14, the Minister said the Government's priority was to conduct the long-delayed Provincial Council elections at the earliest opportunity.
However, he stressed that the elections should be held under a system that genuinely reflects the will of the people.
"For many years, the people have wanted to move away from the preferential voting system and instead elect a representative who is directly accountable to a specific constituency," he said.
He noted that this principle had already been adopted for Local Government elections, where the new system enabled voters to identify their constituency representatives more easily, eliminated unnecessary competition arising from preferential voting and significantly reduced campaign expenditure.
The Minister added that the system had also strengthened women's representation.
He said a similar constituency-based electoral system, without preferential voting and with guaranteed representation for women, had been proposed for Provincial Council elections.
"We cannot ignore the people's aspirations and revert to the previous electoral system," he said.
According to the Minister, Parliament has entrusted a committee with finalising the new electoral framework, including constituency delimitation. Once its recommendations are approved by Parliament, the Government will proceed with the elections immediately.
He emphasised that Provincial Councils could not continue to function indefinitely under Governors and Chief Secretaries alone.
"Provincial Councils require elected public representatives, particularly as key sectors such as health and education are largely administered by the provincial administrations," he said.
The Minister urged all political parties represented in Parliament, including Tamil and Muslim parties, to cooperate in finalising the new electoral system without delay.
Rejecting claims that the Government lacked the financial resources to hold elections, Mr. Jayatissa said adequate funds were available.
"Even if a General Election had to be held unexpectedly, the Government has both the responsibility and the capacity to allocate the required funds," he said.
He noted that Rs. 500 billion had been allocated for relief assistance, of which only Rs. 250-260 billion had so far been utilised.
"Conducting Provincial Council elections would require only around Rs. 10-15 billion. Therefore, there is absolutely no financial impediment to holding the elections. The Government is ready to proceed as soon as Parliament approves the new electoral system," he added.
