A petition has been filed in the Supreme Court challenging the Gazette notification that schedules the General Election for 2024 on 14 November.

The petition was submitted by H.M. Priyantha Herath, a civil rights activist and convener of the "Api Sri Lanka National Organization." He is requesting a ruling that the decision to hold the parliamentary polls on 14 November is unconstitutional.

The respondents named in the petition include the Attorney General, the Secretary to the President, the Chairman of the Election Commission, and other commission members.

The petitioner claims that according to Section 10 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, the nomination period was set from 4 October to 11 October. Furthermore, the Act stipulates that the polling date must be fixed between five to seven weeks from the conclusion of the nomination period.

Thus, the petitioner states that the five-week period from 11 October, when the acceptance of nominations was completed, will end on 15 November, while the seven-week period will conclude on 29 November.

However, the petitioner argues that holding the parliamentary polls on 14 November is unlawful, as this date falls outside the mandated period.

The petition also mentions that attempts were made to inform the Chairman of the Election Commission about this error, but these efforts were unsuccessful.

The petitioner has requested the Supreme Court to declare that the scheduled election violates the sovereignty of the people and the Constitution. Additionally, he seeks the Court's guidance on appropriate measures to correct this issue.