SLPP Backs Provincial Council Elections Under Previous Electoral System
06-Jun-2026.
The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) will extend its full support if the Government introduces legislative amendments in Parliament to conduct Provincial Council elections under the previous electoral system, according to SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam.
He made these remarks while addressing the media following a meeting with electoral organisers held at the party headquarters on June 5.
Kariyawasam stated that despite nearing two years in office, the Government had failed to implement any meaningful programme to strengthen domestic production, questioning how the national economy could grow under such circumstances.
He also criticised the Government over the continued increase in fuel prices and the corresponding rise in the cost of essential food items, alleging that insufficient attention was being paid to the hardships faced by the public.
Referring to claims that the Treasury holds substantial reserves amounting to trillions of rupees and billions of dollars, he questioned why relief measures were not being provided to economically distressed citizens.
He argued that stabilising the economy by pushing people into poverty merely serves to satisfy the requirements of the International Monetary Fund, adding that the entire population has been burdened in order to secure the IMF's US$3 billion assistance package.
Kariyawasam further claimed that public confidence in the Government had significantly declined. He noted that although the administration came to power promising to hold Provincial Council elections within a year, it now appeared to be seeking ways to postpone them.
Reiterating his party's position, he said the SLPP remained firmly committed to holding Provincial Council elections at the earliest opportunity and would support any move to conduct them under the former electoral framework.
He expressed confidence that voters would use the Provincial Council elections to correct what he described as the political mistakes of 2024 and asserted that the SLPP would re-establish its political strength through the electoral process.
