Acceptance of postal voting applications commences

The Election Commission (EC) announced that acceptance of postal voting applications for the upcoming Parliamentary Elections commenced yesterday (25).

Elections Commissioner General Saman Sri Ratnayake said that all arrangements have been made to accept postal voting applications in all 22 districts within a period of seven days from yesterday (25).

Nominations are open for recognised political parties and independent groups of candidates who fulfil the criteria required by law to contest for the forthcoming General Election, the Election Commissioner General said.

The 2024 General Election will be held under the Proportional Representation system.

The Parliamentary Election is scheduled to be held on November 14 and acceptance of nominations will take place from October 4 to 12.00 noon on October 11 at all District Secretariat offices and District Elections offices by the Returning Officers.

In relation to the 2024 Parliamentary Election, the Election Commission announced information about the deposit of security money by independent groups and the number of candidates that can be nominated by political parties or independent groups for each district. Recognised political parties do not have to place security deposits.

The number of members to be elected for the constituencies in each district, the number of candidates to be nominated by a nomination paper per district, and the security deposit amount to be deposited by an independent group has been announced by the Election Commission.

Accordingly, the number of members that can be elected per electoral district is as follows:

Colombo – 18, Gampaha – 19, Kalutara – 11, Kandy – 12, Matale – 05, Nuwara Eliya – 08, Galle – 09, Matara – 07, Hambantota – 07, Jaffna – 06, Wanni – 06, Batticaloa – 05, Digamadulla – 07, Trincomalee – 04, Kurunegala – 15, Puttalam – 08, Anuradhapura – 09, Polonnaruwa – 05, Badulla – 09, Monaragala – 06, Ratnapura – 11 and Kegalle – 09.

The number of members that can be nominated per electoral district is as follows:

Colombo – 21, Gampaha – 22, Kalutara – 14, Kandy – 15, Matale – 08, Nuwara Eliya – 11, Galle – 12, Matara – 10, Hambantota – 10, Jaffna – 09, Wanni – 09, Batticaloa – 08, Digamadulla – 10, Trincomalee – 07, Kurunegala – 18, Puttalam – 11, Anuradhapura – 12, Polonnaruwa – 08, Badulla – 12, Monaragala – 09, Ratnapura – 14 and Kegalle – 12.

The deposit money per independent group candidate is Rs. 2,000 and the independent groups must place the total amount of deposit money based on the number of candidates per district at the District Secretariats or District Elections Offices from September 25 until October 03, the day prior to accepting nominations.

The new Election Expenditure Regulatory Act will be enforced in this election as well and the State Property Usage Act will also apply.

According to the Election Commission, the election laws will be in force from September 25. Distribution of any type of subsidies or relief measures that could influence the people to get their votes is strictly prohibited.

The Gazette issued on Tuesday (24) by the President to dissolve Parliament with effect from September 24 midnight had stated that the General Election will be held on November 14 and the new Parliament will convene on November 21.

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