The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) today filed a writ petition in the Supreme Court seeking an order quashing the Cabinet decision.
to instruct the district returning officers not to accept deposits from the local government election candidates until further notice.
The SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara filed this petition challenging the decision taken by the Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils, and Local Government to issue a letter dated January 10, 2023, purportedly acting under the instructions of the Cabinet of Ministers, directing district returning officers not to accept deposits from the Local Government Election candidates.
The petitioner states that his party, the SJB, is in the process of depositing the monies as required by the gazette notifications in order to be eligible to contest all the local authorities in the country and will be restrained in doing so in the event the divisional secretaries comply with the illegal, illogical, and nonsensical directive of the Cabinet of Ministers passed down through the respondent secretaries.
