Thinking Outside the (Ballot) Box - On the Sri Lankan Supreme Court's Election Commission Decision

Abstract

The Election Commission of Sri Lanka is riding a wave of praise after completing a peaceful presidential election on 21st September 2024. Less than a month before, however, the commission was found responsible for a breach of fundamental rights for its failure to conduct local government elections scheduled for 2023. This blogpost argues that the landmark decision sends a strong signal to all guarantor institutions in Sri Lanka to maintain their independence and to use their powers to discharge their functions.

Keywords

• Election Commission
• Election law
• Fourth Branch
• Sri Lanka
• Sri Lanka