Day before postal voting, police-army get new motorbikes
View(s):The Police Department, just 24 hours before postal voting began for the January presidential poll, rushed out a circular to all police officers saying they are eligible to a motorcycle worth Rs. 250,000 on easy payment terms.
The motorcycle offer was a proposal in the 2015 Budget (presented last month) and was to be executed only after January 2015. However after presidential elections were announced in second half November, certain police stations already began receiving these motorbikes.
Subsequently in a bid to cover the entire country, Senior DIG Gamini Navaratne on December 22 – ahead of the December 23-24 postal voting period – issued the circular to all police stations which said officers will be given motorcycles worth Rs. 200,0000 on a down payment of Rs.50,000 with immediate effect.
The government has also extended the motor cycle distribution to include army personnel who were not eligible in the budget proposal. This was conveyed to all army personnel in a letter sent to all army camps under the signature of Major General K.A.D.S Karunasekera on December 21, two days before the commencement of postal voting.
The distribution of motor cycles for law enforcement authorities on the eve of a presidential election is a violation of election laws, a senior lawyer told the Business Times.