10. The following new sections are hereby inserted immediately after section 27, and shall have effect as section 27A, section 27B, section 27c, section 27D and section 27E, of the principal enactment:-
| 27A.
| | (1) A political party shall, under and in accordance with the provisions of this Ordinance, be entitled to be treated as a recognized political party for the purpose of local elections. | | |
| | (2) A political party shall be entitled to be treated as a recognized political party for the purpose of local elections if, but only if, it was, at the last parliamentary general election immediately preceding such local elections, treated as a recognized political party under the Parliamentary Elections Order in Council for the purpose of the provisions of section 29 of that Order relating to the deposit to be made by candidates. | | |
| | (3) Where a political party is entitled, by virtue of the operation of the provisions of subsection (2), to be treated as a recognized political party for the purpose of local elections, the approved symbol allotted to the candidates of such party under the Parliamentary Elections Order in Council, at the last parliamentary general election immediately preceding such local elections shall be deemed to be the approved symbol allotted to such party for that purpose until the date on which it ceases to be so entitled by virtue of subsection (2). | | |
|
|
| 27B. In the succeeding provisions of this Ordinance, a political party which is entitled to be treated as a recognized political party for the purpose of local elections is referred to as a " recognized party for the purpose of local elections ". |
|
| 27C.
| | (1) Subject to the provisions of this Ordinance, each recognized party for the purpose of local elections may, in the case of any election for any ward of an electoral area, have only one official candidate of that party at such election. | | |
| | (2) Nothing in the provisions of subsection (1) shall be deemed or construed to preclude or prohibit a recognized party for the purpose of local elections from having candidates, other than official candidates of that party, at any election which is due to be held in any ward of an electoral area. | | |
| | (3) In this Ordinance, the expression " official candidate of a recognized party for the purpose of local elections ", in relation to any election which is due to be held in any ward of an electoral area, means a candidate of that party at such election in respect of whom there is, for the time being in force, a valid certificate of official candidature in respect of such election. | | |
|
|
| 27D.
| | (1) Where an election is due to be held in any ward of an electoral area, the secretary of any recognized party for the purpose of local elections may validly issue, under his hand, to the returning officer for that ward a certificate in respect of only one candidate of that party at such election to the effect that such candidate is the official candidate of that party at such election. A certificate so validly issued is in this Ordinance referred to as a "valid certificate of official candidature ". | | |
| | (2) The secretary of a recognized party for the purpose of local elections may at any time cancel a valid certificate of official candidature issued in respect of any candidate of that party at any election which is due to be held in any ward of an electoral area, and issue another such certificate in its place to any other candidate of that party. | | |
| | (3) A certificate of official candidature which is not validly issued under subsection (1) shall be invalid and of no effect. | | |
|
|
| 27E.
| | (1) Where the Commissioner has reasonable cause to believe that difficulties may arise at any election which is due to be held in any ward of an electoral area by reason of the fact that there are rival sections of a recognized party for the purpose of local elections all of whom claim to be that party, the Commissioner may, in order to remove such difficulties, issue in his absolute discretion a direction to the returning officer for that ward that, in the case of such election, such recognized party is either any one such section or none of such sections. It shall be the duty of such returning officer or any other officer, at such election, to act in accordance with that direction. | | |
| | (2) No suit or other proceeding shall lie against-
| | | (a) the Commissioner by reason of his having issued a direction under subsection (1) ; or |
| (b) a returning officer or any other officer for any act or thing done or omitted to be done in accordance with that direction. |
|
| | (3) A direction issued by a returning officer under subsection (1) shall be final and conclusive, and shall not be called in question in any court, whether by way of writ or otherwise. | | |
| | (4) The preceding provisions of this section, and any direction issued thereunder, shall have effect notwithstanding anything to the contrary in any other provision of this Ordinance. | | |
|
|
|
Sri Lanka Consolidated Acts