Who administers direct democracy mechanisms at the national level?

Constitutionof the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka

(Adoptedin 1978, last amended in 2001)

http://www.priu.gov.lk/Cons/1978Constitution/Chapter_13_Amd.html

ChapterXIII, Parliament to provide forprocedure, Article 87.

1)Every Referendum shall beconducted by the Commissioner of Elections who shall communicate the resultthereof to the President.

Website of the Department ofElections

http://www.slelections.gov.lk/index.html

The Department of Elections was created on October 01, 1955,amalgamating the then existing two Departments of Parliamentary Elections andLocal Body Elections.

The Vision of the Department is to protect democracy in the country; itis achieved by conducting free and fair elections and referenda.

The Department functioned as an independent Government Department notcoming under any Minister. The Commissioner was answerable only to theParliament.

In October 2001, the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution was enactedto provide for an Election Commission appointed by the President on therecommendations of the Constitutional Council.

The Election Commission was not appointed as envisaged and the incumbentCommissioner of Elections Continued to function in the post until September2010 when the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution was passed.

The EighteenthAmendment provided for the President to appoint a person holding office as anAdditional Commissioner of Elections or Deputy Commissioner of Elections to dischargethe functions conferred on the Election Commission