President Ranil Wickremesinghe said that the country would have been thrust towards a deeper crisis if funds had been allocated to conduct the local government polls at the right time.
The President made these comments addressing a meeting held with former local government heads in Colombo, where the President detailed the challenges he was faced with at the time. The economy had completely collapsed, he noted.
“The local government election occurred against this backdrop. However, there were insufficient funds to allocate for it. Many issues needed prioritization over that election, such as allocating money for importing medicines and fuel,” President Wickremesinghe said.
The President also stressed that the Election Commission’s decision to consult the former President of the Bar Association of Sri Lanka on the mattter, was a misguided action.
“At that time, the Election Commission sought advice from Mr. Saliya Peiris P.C. without consulting the Attorney General regarding the local government election, which was a misguided action. Eventually, its members resigned, and a new team was appointed. I made it clear the truth then that there was no money in the country to hold local government elections,” he said.
“If I had not acted this way and held the election, neglecting economic development, the country would be in a much worse state today,” President Wickremesingeh said. (Newswire)
