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Illegal cutouts reappear as fast as polls officials take them down
Men get out from mini-lorries with bundles of posters of presidential candidates and a buckets full of glue to plaster walls with election propaganda while larger-than-life cutouts of the candidates and their banners remain on streets, a blatant violation of election law.
“The Commission is struggling with a shortage of manpower to deploy officials throughout the country to see where illegal banners, cutouts and other election propaganda material have been put up,” Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said.
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While police say more than 2,010 casual workers have been deployed to remove hundreds of propaganda material displayed illegally and courts have ordered police and polls chiefs to remove them immediately, there are cutouts and banners galore in Colombo and elsewhere.
“Over 90 per cent of the cutouts have been removed. The Elections Commissioner allocated Rs. 50 million for this purpose,” Police Spokesman Senior Superintendent of Police Ajith Rohana said.
This week, the Court of Appeal instructed the Inspector-General of Police and Elections Commissioner to remove banners and hoardings bearing the pictures of presidential candidates in the Colombo, Kotte and Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia municipal council areas.
The order came following writ petitions filed by the Treasurer of Bar Association of Sri Lanka (BASL) and two members of BASL. Mayors, municipal commissioners, the Deputy Inspector-General of Police Gamini Navaratne and the Attorney General were cited as respondents.
The petitioners said the illegal election propaganda material violated Section 74 of the Presidential Election Act No.15 of 1981.
The Sunday Times learns that election hoardings 10×20 feet in size are in high demand, costing from Rs. 10,000- 50,000.
Printers are getting big orders for printing election propaganda material ranging from leaflets to posters, banners and cutouts.
“Most of these are Flexbanners. They cost Rs. 35-50 per square foot. The wood or iron frame is added to that cost,” a digital printer in Ratmalana said.
Another printer in Piliyandala who also did not want to be named said local politicians and businessmen were placing many orders for banners and large cutouts.
People’s Liberation Front (JVP) MP Sunil Handunnetti charged that state institutions such as the Ports Authority and Sri Lanka Telecom had been involved in putting up hoardings of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
“In the beginning, it was businessmen who were behind the erection of the hoardings. Now it is being mainly done by mayors and chairmen of local government authorities as well as by other state institutions. This is public money being spent on illegal propaganda,” Mr. Handunnetti said.