A. Mohammed Ilyas, who received nominations for the upcoming presidential election, has passed away at age 78. Mr. Ilyas was to contest as an independent candidate under the symbol of a syringe.

He passed away on August 22nd while receiving treatment at the Puttalam Base Hospital due to a sudden illness. Mr. Ilyas has also worked as a member of Parliament, representing the Jaffna district during the Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga government.

We discussed with the Director (Planning and Research) of the Election Commission, Mr. Channa P. De Silva, whether the name of a deceased candidate would be included in the ballot paper or whether a deputy could stand on behalf of the deceased candidate.

He clarified that since the ballot paper printing process had already been initiated, the name of the late Mr Mohammad Ilyas would also be mentioned on the ballot paper. However, he noted that it is possible to replace his position with a substitute if his representatives decide to field a replacement candidate on behalf of the deceased candidate.

The Election Commissioner General, Mr. Saman Sri Rathnayake, also expressed his views on this and said that another candidate may come forward on behalf of the deceased candidate. More information is here.

Has this happened before?

In the 1994 Presidential Election, Mr Gamini Dissanayke, who was the presidential candidate from UNP, was tragically killed in a bomb attack during a political meeting at Grandpass, Colombo. As a result of this untimely assassination, which took place very close to the presidential election, the United National Party (UNP) had to field a replacement.

Despite the option to opt for other seasoned candidates, hoping for sympathy votes, the candidate fielded by the UNP was Mrs Srima Dissanayake, the wife of Mr Gamini Dissanayake. However, she was defeated by a massive margin by that time PM Mrs Chandrika Kumaratunga.

In a case like this, it is essential to study how the election law is implemented to replace the candidate; it is included in Act No. 15 of 1981 of the Presidential Election Act. Section 22 of the Act lays down the procedure to be followed in case of “death of a candidate or candidates after the submission of nominations”. For this purpose, the valid action is included in Act No. 16 of 1988 (Amended), which was brought into the Act 15 of 1981 for selecting the President.

UPFA