The Ministry of Sports and Tourism issued the following communiqué on the re-election of the 2015 National Sports Association
As per the good governance policies of the newly elected government, the Minister of Tourism and Sports Navin Dissanayake after receiving several submissions and complains regarding the office bearers, officials of the Sports, directed the officials of the Ministry of Sports and his legal team to verify and report on these matters.
After several round of discussions the Minister referred conclusion of the said officials to the Attorney General for his opinion regarding the Sports Law.
Accordingly, the Attorney General’s opinion as follows:
As specified in the regulation 13(1) of the gazette Extra ordinary No. 1793/3 dated 15th January 2013 and according to the National Sports Act No.25 of 1973, no person who has served a term of office as President, Secretary, Treasurer, Vice President, Assistant Secretary, Assistant treasurer of any National Association or Federation for one term (a period of two years) shall be eligible for reelection for any of the above positions.
However, in terms of 13(2) the Minister has the discretion to grant permission for reelection of persons on the basis of the matters set out therein. In this context it is noted that the discretion so granted is not unfettered and is limited by the proviso to regulation 13(2) that the period during which a person serves in any one of the positions shall not in the aggregate exceeded four years.
Hence, any sports official who has been in office for a period of 4 years cannot contest the election as per the law.
