Sri Lanka, Aug. 18 -- Sri Lanka's Election Commission has rejected 36 out of 83 applications submitted this year to register new political parties, officials said.

Director General of the Commission, Saman Sri Ratnayake, said the rejections were made after preliminary checks found that the applicants had failed to meet basic requirements.

He added that the remaining 47 applications are currently under review, with interviews for prospective party representatives now taking place.

At present, a total of 86 political parties are officially registered in Sri Lanka, according to the Commission.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Hiru News....