SLC elections in January 2016, says sports minister

Sri Lanka's sports minister Dayasiri Jayasekera has said that elections for Sri Lanka Cricket will be held in January 2016. SLC has been administered by a nine-member interim committee, headed by former cricketer Sidath Wettimuny, since April 1.

Speaking at an event at the Pallekele stadium, Jayasekera said: "Elections will be held in January next year, and those eligible could contest and get elected. Those elected to power to this prestigious body will have the challenge of generating their own finances to fund the ongoing projects for the future undertaken by the present interim administration."

This is not the first time January elections have been mentioned. Three months ago, the Sri Lanka board itself had stated its commitment to holding elections before the end of January.

The interim committee was established because the posts held by the then existing office-bearers, led by president Jayantha Dharmadasa, had become null and void - the laws governing all sports bodies in the country require annual elections to be held on or before March 31 but SLC's elections were postponed until the end of April due to the 2015 World Cup, which ended on March 29. The interim committee's time in power was not specified, but it was expected to last not more than six months.

In April, the ICC announced that the appointment of an interim committee at SLC was a breach of the ICC's constitution. As such, it had placed certain sanctions on SLC, including holding payments due to the board in escrow, and suspending SLC's voting rights at ICC meetings. The ICC had also urged SLC to hold elections by October, but this is understood to have been a soft deadline.