Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFÉ), which put out its final report on the Parliamentary Election held in February, said that the election was not held according to international standards.

It said that CaFFE had received reports of 39 confirmed cases of misuse of State/Public properties during the pre-election period. Many government servants it reported had complained to the Human Rights Commission of incidents such as the arbitrary transfers, harassment and unlawful interdictions.

The report highlighted that marking the index number of the voter which was marked in the voter register on the counter file of the ballot paper was done in this election too according to the provisions made under the clause 37 (A) of the Parliamentary Election Act no 1 of 1981. It said the people did not have any prior knowledge of this. “This is in fact violating the basic principle of trust one places in an election as it created a problem of securing the confidentiality of the ballot,” the report said pointing out that it helped to track the party a particular voter had voted for. CaFFE received 156 cases with regard to the violation of election laws during the pre-election period as well.(Read More)

The Democratic National Alliance (DNA) says the country has not received any benefits from having the International Indian Film Academy (IIFA) awards ceremony in Colombo.

The JVP-led political alliance said that though President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government had spent Rs. 600 million for infrastructure development and propaganda, several top stars had skipped the event.

Addressing the media at DNA head office yesterday, JVP MP Vijitha Herath accused the government of having ‘wasted’ Rs. 600 million on what it called a worthless event, while people recently displaced due to floods continued to experience difficulties. (Read More)

KANDY - The United National Party (UNP) one of the oldest political parties in Sri Lanka could boast of a celebrated history and therefore it should iron out internal differences and continue to serve the country, the Most Ven. Mahanayaka of Malwatta Tibbatuwawe Sri Siddhartha Sumangala Thero told the UNP and Opposition Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe on Saturday (5).

Wickremesinghe called on the prelate in the company of the UNP General Secretary JVP Tissa Attanayake and MPs Wijedasa Rajapaksa and Lakshman Kiriella. (Read More)

UNP Puttalam district Member of Parliament (MP) Palitha Range Bandara had been asked to appear before the party disciplinary committee this week to make a statement over the attack on him allegedly by another UNP member.

The UNP MP told Daily Mirror Online that he had received a letter from the party asking him to appear before the UNP disciplinary committee on Saturday 12 June after he had complained to the party over the assault on him prior to the recent general elections. (Read More)

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) will meet President Mahinda Rajapaksa with an open mind and priority will be given to the post-conflict humanitarian issues according to TNA parliamentarian and spokesman Suresh Premachandran.

Commenting on the much anticipated talks between President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the Tamil National Alliance tomorrow Suresh Premachandran told the Sunday Observer that the TNA has nothing to hide.

“We will meet President Rajapaksa with an open mind. The TNA is not anybody’s proxy. The people in the North and the East have placed confidence in us.(Read More)

It looks as if the UNP is down in the dumps and might not be able to raise its head, with its members disagreeing on every count. Consecutive defeats in elections and the stubbornness of some of its MPs have made the UNP realize that reforms are a must. Even on this count there seems to be disagreement between the members with some of them wholeheartedly agreeing while others are in total disagreement. With several candidates bidding for party leadership, each ‘section’ makes sure that their versions of an incident leaks into the media and each side assures that their version is true.

For example last week there were media reports which stated that the majority of the Provincial Council members rejected the proposal to elect a party leader through a secret ballot in the absence of consensus during a meeting between them and a committee headed by Joseph Michael Perera, who is in charge of the committee to recommend changes to the UNP constitution. But these reports are now being refuted by a majority of the UNP PCs and MPs. They added that there has been a misinterpretation of what actually took place on June 1st.
Southern provincial councillor Maithree Gunarathne told LAKBIMAnEWS that the councillors who gathered at Sirikotha agreed to appoint a committee comprising parliamentarians, provincial Councillors,Chairmen, opposition leader of local councils and organizers of electorates who have voting rights to elect a leader. (Read More)

Close on the heels of the Court of Appeal dismissing a UNP move to expel Sabaragamuwa Provincial Councillor Jayatilleke Podinilame for supporting President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s candidature at the January 26 presidential election, the UPFA has rewarded the veteran politician.

He has been appointed Deputy Chairman of the Sabaragamuwa PC in place of Ranjith Bandara, who succeeded Athula Kumara Rahubedde as Chairman of the Council.

Interestingly, the UPFA proposed Podinilame for the post on May 20, five

days before the Court of Appeal declared that his expulsion from the UNP was invalid. The Court declared that the judgment would not prevent the UNP from initiating fresh disciplinary action against the rebel.

Responding to a query by The Island, an official at the Sabaragamuwa PC said that the UNP PC group had not opposed the UPFA move. He was proposed by Minister D. M. Karunapala and endorsed by Bhanu Munipriya.(Read More)

The recent tax reduction on vehicle imports was a mere gimmick by the government to increase its tax revenue, the JVP said yesterday.

JVP MP Sunil Handunnetti, commenting on the government’s move, told Daily Mirror that the government had adopted a jackpot style approach to increase its revenue during this trying time.

“When the tax rate is high, imports are discouraged. Then, the government’s tax revenue decreases. As a result, they have reduced the taxes on vehicle imports.  Now, there will be more and more vehicle imports eventually resulting in the increase of state revenue by way of taxes,” Mr. Handunnetti said. (Read More)