Rosy challenges CMC list rejection

Wasantha Ramanayake

COLOMBO: Former Mrs. World, Rosy Senanayake filed a petition in the Court of Appeal challenging the refusal of the UNP nomination list for the Colombo Municipal Council at the forthcoming Local Authorities Election scheduled for March 30.

Petitioner Senanayake sought an order compelling the Elections Commissioner to accept the UNP nomination list for the Colombo Municipality and Writ of Certiorari to quash the order of the Returning Officer that rejected the nomination. She also sought a prohibition order restraining the Election Commissioner from holding the election without accepting the UNP nomination list.

The petitioner stated that the UNP nomination list was illegally rejected on the basis that one of the youth candidates of the UNP was not 18 years of age as at June 6, 2004, and was not a "youth candidate" as defined by the Section 31(2) of the Local Authorities (Elections) Ordinance; the disqualification of the youth candidate thus resulted in the one candidate short of the required total number of youth candidates.

Petitioner Senanayake stated that she had been a resident of the Colombo Municipality area for the past 22 years. She stated that the decision of the Colombo Municipal area Returning Officer rejecting the UNP nomination list would affect her democratic right to vote for the party of her choice.
