The National Polls Observation Centre (NPOC) warned on Tuesday that the Eastern Province would be the "biggest loser" if the proposed 20th Amendment to the constitution was adopted.
"It took a long time for the people of the Eastern Province to have a provincial council of their own. The current Eastern Provincial Council (EPC) was established after the 8 September 2012 election. If the election is not held this year, which will happen if the 20th Amendment is passed, the people will have to wait another two years to elect representatives," National Coordinator of National Polls Observation Centre (NPOC) Rasanga Harischandra was quoted by Ceylon Today as saying.
The draft Amendment seeks to hold all the Provincial Council elections on the same day and removes the power of Provincial Councils to call for early elections, granting parliament the power to determine the date on which all the Provincial Councils will be dissolved.
The Amendment also makes clear that "in the event of any inconsistency between the Sinhala and Tamil texts of this Act, the Sinhala text shall prevail."
