Jayasinghe Mudalige Aruna Kumara vs Dayananda Dissanayake – CA WRIT APPLICATION NO.423/2011-2013

In Jayasinghe Mudalige Aruna Kumara, Nissanka Attanapitiya, Kohilegedera, and others v. Dayananda Dissanayake (Former Commissioner General of Elections) and others, the court addressed whether writs of certiorari and mandamus could be issued to invalidate election results and mandate a recount of preferential votes in relation to the Kurunegala Pradeshiya Sabha local government election (March 2011), based on alleged irregularities in the vote-counting process. The court held that such relief was not maintainable within writ jurisdiction, emphasizing that challenges to election validity are reserved for proceedings under the Local Government Elections Ordinance by way of election petition. It was determined that the declaration of election results is a ministerial, not an adjudicative, act