Yet, neither he nor his party is contesting the forthcoming elections to the Colombo Municipal Council as shown by the lists delivered with our polling cards. The press reports that Mr. Cooray and his party will ‘persuade’ individuals elected from one of the independent groups contesting these elections to resign in their favour. How can this tactic be permitted?

If I vote for Mr. A because I support his political stance or that of the party or group that he represents, I will feel cheated if he wins and then resigns in favour of someone else. If Mr. A intends to resign in this manner, then he should inform the proper authority of this fact and ensure that the ballot paper shows that he is only a proxy for some other person.

The proposed tactic reduces the municipal elections to a farce. If our election laws permit this mode of voting,the possibilities are mind boggling. If it were so, could the president-elect ‘sell’ this office to the highest bidder?

God forbid!