Ex-Prisoner appeals to SC to restore voting rights for incarcerated individuals

• The petitioner stated that, according to the Prisons Department data as of May 2024, there are 19,867 remand prisoners in Sri Lanka, accounting for 64.7% of the total prison population

by Lakmal Sooriyagoda   

A writ petition has been filed in the Supreme Court seeking an order directing the Election Commission to issue requisite guidelines to facilitate the eligible prisoners and inmates in remand custody to cast their vote in the elections including Presidential, Parliament and at every referendum.  

This petition was filed by Sudesh Nandimal Silva, a former prisoner, who was unable to vote due to the absence of a voting process for prisoner.  

The petitioner stated that, according to the Prisons Department data as of May 2024, there are 19,867 remand prisoners in Sri Lanka,  accounting for 64.7% of the total prison population. These individuals, alongside    other eligible prisoners, are deprived of their constitutional right to vote due to the absence of a proper voting mechanism within the prison system.  

The Petitioner states that the power to issue requisite guidelines to lay down a mechanism to facilitate the eligible prisoners or inmates in remand custody to vote  
is thereby directly vested in the Election Commission by virtue of Articles 103 and 104B of the Constitution and the failure to adhere to Articles 103 and 104B by the Commission would therefore be deemed as an act of illegality which would require judicial review.  

The Petitioner further stated that the absence of a facility for eligible prisoners to cast their votes is in violation of the rights guaranteed by the Constitution.