Ending days of speculation, the Election Commission is stating that parliamentary elections will be held on June 20 this year.
Parliament was dissolved on March 2, and the election was scheduled for April 25th. However, with the spread of COVID-19, and it becoming apparent that the election could not be held as scheduled, a new date was expected to be set towards the end of May.
Even while the Presidential Secretariat and the EC exchange communication on the matter, where the former was pushing for an end May date, other stakeholders, both within and outside the political sphere were warning against holding the poll at the end of May.
The government relaxed curfew in 19 districts on April 20th, and other high risk areas were due to have the curfew lifted on April 22, while the government decided to open up offices and prepare the country to return to normalcy. All of this was seen by political circles as a sign that the government wanted to go ahead with the election by the end of May despite concerns that Sri Lanka was not yet clear of COVID-19.
The last count on the number of patients, as of April 20 is 304.
The Election Commission is expected to gazette the new date for the election as June 20, tonight (April 20).
