MIM opposes idea of simultaneous polls
Hyderabad, June 30: Majlis-e-Ittehadul Muslimeen (MIM) has opposed the proposal to hold simultaneous polls to the Lok Sabha and all state assemblies, saying it is a solution in search of a problem.
MIM President Asaduddin Owaisi made the party's stand clear in a letter to the Law Commission of India, which is consulting political parties and other stakeholders before making its final recommendations on the issue of simultaneous elections.
The Hyderabad MP described the issue of simultaneous elections as a "solution in search of a problem". He said no attempts were made so far to analyse if there was a need for simultaneous elections. Instead, certain logistical difficulties - such as the expenditure in holding elections - are being projected as sufficient enough reasons to wholesale amend the basic structure of the Constitution.
"I would like to emphasise that constitutional principles of collective responsibility and legislative oversight of executive cannot be sacrificed at the altar of efficiency and stability. It is not possible privilege convenience over constitutional guarantees," he wrote.
The MP said it must be noted that parliamentary democracy and federalism are part of the basic structure of the Constitution. These features of the Constitution cannot be amended away by the legislature in any circumstances, let alone for the sake of saving public expenditure.
"Moreover, it is unclear that any significant public interest is served by conducting simultaneous elections," the MIM chief added.
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Dissanayake on way to become Sri Lankan President, postal voting results suggest
Colombo (PTI): National People's Power (NPP) leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake seems set to become Sri Lanka’s ninth executive president on Sunday with an impressive show in the presidential election, according to postal voting results of seven electoral districts.
The polling took place on Saturday from 7 am to 4 pm local time at over 13,400 polling stations in 22 electoral districts.
The 56-year-old leader had taken an unassailable lead over his rivals, the main Opposition leader, Sajith Premadasa, 57, and the incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, 75.
According to results declared in postal voting of seven of the 22 electoral districts, the NPP leader has gained 56 per cent of the votes, with his rivals trail him by grabbing 19 per cent each.
According to the trend shown in postal voting results, analysts say Dissanayake is likely to win the presidency by 50 per cent plus votes.
This comes after predictions that a second preference vote count might be needed to determine the winner among the three front runners.
The election, dubbed a three-cornered contest between Wickremesinghe, Dissanayake, and Premadasa of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), shows signs of being a landslide for Dissanayake, who would become Sri Lanka’s first ever Marxist head of state.
