The Parliament Elections Act no 01 of 1981 clearly explains how candidates must work during an election and the punishments that should be meted out for violating the elections act. Ranjith Keerthi Tennakoon, spokesperson for CaFFE, an election monitoring organization, points out that candidates violate the act without any fear about being punished.
“There are no political ethics in Sri Lanka. Candidates violate everything mentioned in the elections act,” said Dr. Prathibha Mahanamahewa, senior lecturer of the Faculty of Law, University of Colombo. According to him, the act contains three main sections that explain election offences, corruptions and illegal acts. According to sentence No 66 of the act, “preparing official ballot papers without any authority”, “buying or selling of ballot papers”, “contesting for an election or holding of rallies by a person without civic rights”, “asking for votes by a person who is not a candidate”, are considered as offences. In addition to that, one party can open only one election propaganda office in a single district.
“The Commissioner of Elections has stated that posters, cutouts can not be displayed during the election period. The elections commissioner is playing on a ‘cheating game’ during the whole election period of two and a half months. Illegal cutouts are displayed right in front of 11 district election offices and you can see them just as you come out of the gates. But no one is doing anything to remove them. It is the same about election offices. No one can ask for votes for a candidate but today the wife goes from place to place asking voters to vote for the husband” said Thennakoon. (Read More)
According to Keerthi Tennakoon from the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) senior Cabinet ministers are even being prevented by their own party men from campaigning in certain areas.
“This is the extent of the ‘manape’ fight and things may go out of hand on the night of counting. Every election law has already been flouted. There is no democracy and nothing is free and fair in this ongoing campaign,” Mr. Tenakoon said.
“The same issues cropped up even in the earlier elections. Election Chief Dayananda Dissanayake gives orders to the police, but beyond that nothing is being really implemented. So much so that a life-size cut-out of a UPFA candidate stands at the entrance to the Kandana police station situated at the main junction,” he added. “Even the opposition is violating the laws, to a lesser extent with their posters and cut-outs. The whole set up is a big joke,” Mr. Tenakoon further said. (Read More)
With less than a month to go for the forthcoming general elections which record an unprecedented number of candidates in the country’s election history, the debate on the effectiveness of the election laws too has become prominent in the political arena.
The general public as well as interested parties raised their eyebrows on exorbitant amounts of money spent on election campaigns by the candidates. With new developments taking place in its path to democracy in the post-war era, focus is highly levelled at transparency and clarity of its law makers. Thus, parties lobbying for non-corrupt parliamentary members are increasing pressure on authorities as well as politicians to fully enforce the Declaration of Assets and Liabilities Law in order to put an end to corruption.
Spokesperson for CaFFE, Keerthi Tennakoon said that these documents should be made public.
“What is the point in declaring assets if the public has no access to those details? The declaration comes in a sealed envelop and is being kept in a box sometimes not even being opened. What we say is these should be made public documents and then only the purpose of having such law will be fulfilled,” he said.
In most of the other democratic countries around the world declaring assets is mandatory in law when contesting an election. “Not only they should declare their assets but in most of these countries there are restrictions in election campaigning too. In fact, those candidates cannot spend more than a certain amount recommended by authorities,” an official of the Elections Commissioner’s Department said.
According to him our neighbour, India, enforces this law fully where there are instances of powerful politicians penalised for not being genuine in declaring their assets. .......... (Read More)
Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake has directed IGP Mahinda Balasuriya to remove all illegal cutouts and banners before March 15 and to stop buses displaying stickers of candidates from plying. He had also directed him to confiscate those buses if they fail to remove those display material.
He gave these directions when he met the IGP together with political party leaders last afternoon at the Elections Secretariat to discuss moves aimed at conducting a free and fair general election.
Democratic National Alliance frontliner and Former JVP MP Anura Kumara Dissanayake told journalist that the polls chief gave these directions on cutouts and advertisements when they raised objections on the violation of election laws and also on the unfair deals which the lesser affluent candidates got when it came to campaigning. He said there was inequality between the wealthy candidates and the less fortunate ones. Mr. Dissanayake said wealthy candidates were able to spend billions for their campaigns while the lesser fortunate ones were left helpless. (Read More)
Eight Chief Inspectors were interdicted, and a Senior Superintendent and a Superintendent sent on compulsory leave by Police Chief Mahinda Balasuriya on the orders of Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa yesterday.
SSP Noel Chandana Kudahetti and SP Jayantha Rohana Jayawardena were attached to the Management and Development Division of the police headquarters.
The Police Chief in his letter to SSP Kudahetti said the reason for sending him on compulsory leave was because he allegedly asked Inspector Gemunu of the Western Province Special Operations Division to search a printing press on January 6 without a search warrant. The printing press is reported to have printed scurrilous posters against the opposition presidential candidate retired General Sarath Fonseka.
SP Jayawardena was being sent on compulsory leave over charges of malpractice during the presidential election. (Read More)
Colombo district UNF candidate Rosie Senanayake said the opposition had lost faith in Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake.
She alleged that the Commissioner had made conflicting statements when he announced the results of the January 26 Presidential election.
Rosia Senanayake, who is also the opposition leader of the Western Provincial Council, said that she is not "fighting" for preferential votes as Colombo District voters know that she stands for the truth, freedom, democracy, dignity of women and against corruption and bribery.
"There must be at least 25 percent of women represented in Parliament. How can 4 percent of women be heard among 96 per cent of men. There should be more women involved in politics at all level," Mrs. Senanayake said. (Read More)
Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dissanayake has asked secretaries of political parties and leaders of independent groups, contesting the forthcoming parliamentary elections, to apply before March 12 to the Chairmen of the Rupavahini Corporation and SLBC requesting air time.
In allocating air time, the number of electoral districts being contested and the number of candidates would be taken into consideration. The Commissioner said that a party or a group that contests in one district would be allotted 30 minutes, those contesting 2 to 13 districts with 129 candidates would be given 60 minutes and where the districts are 14 with over 130 candidates, 90 minutes would be allocated. (Read More)
The Elections Secretariat says that 50,000 persons have requested permission to cast their votes at polling booths away from their areas of residence. A Senior spokesman said it showed an increase of more than 5,000 persons who applied to vote at the presidential election.
He said that the applications had come from those who now live in camps in Putlam, Anuradhapura, Kurunegala, Gampaha, Kalutara, Mannar, Vavuniya and other places away from their regions. The deadline provided for this category expired on 26th February.
The officer told reporters those applications were now being considered now and the relevant polling booths would be announced shortly.
He added displaced persons who made applications without Grama Niladhari’s certificates would be rejected.
Elections Chief had decided to limit the number of election coordination offices set up by the political parties for the up coming general election in April this year. Accordingly a candidate would be allowed to set up only one Central Office for each District and one for each electorate, sources said while the office could be used only till mid night of the Election Day.
The Branch Offices would be permitted to use only till midnight of 06th April, sources said.
However according to sources each candidate would be allowed to have an office in their residence and such an office is permitted to be used between the Midnight of 06th April to Midnight of 8th April.
The rule which says no election campaign office should be located within 500 meters from a Polling Booth, will be severely enforced, the sources added.
The Elections Department on Sunday ordered the removal of all cut-outs, banners and posters in connection with the forthcoming parliamentary election to be held on April 8. (Read More)
A fundamental rights violation petition was filed against the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) and the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) for the alleged abuses of State resources and partisan use of State media resulting in the violation of the people’s sovereignty in the recently held Presidential election.
Priyanthi Subhashinie Perera, Helen Joanna Beryl Gray and Deborah Marianne Philip in their petition cited the Rupavahini Corporation, its Chairman Prof. Ariyaratne Athugala, its Chief Executive Officer Karunaratne Paranavithana, Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation Chairman Hudson Samarasinghe, Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake and the Attorney General as respondents.
The petition stated that the 2nd respondent Karunaratne Paranavithana and the 4th respondent Hudson Samarasinghe were SLFP organizers for Ratnapura district and Colombo West respectively. (Read More)
