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Gag
order on probe report, campaigners face dilemma The party had delayed the disclosure, since a case was pending in the Supreme Court but has not abandoned its promise to take stern disciplinary action against the offenders, The Sunday Times learns. The UNP leadership has issued a gag order banning any person except Party Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe or Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya divulging anything about the report and has delayed its disclosure. The two-man probe team comprised Attorney Mahinda Haradasa and former Party Treasurer Milroy Perera. The Sunday Times last week revealed that the two-member committee had found two of its Colombo Parliamentarians - Milinda Moragoda and Mohamed Maharoof -responsible for two incidents- the unauthorised removal of the name of a senior candidate and the interpolation of that name with that of one of their political aides and the inclusion of the name of a candidate, whose inclusion resulted in the rejection of the entire list. The report had cited Mr. Moragoda’s Private Secretary S. Collure as the key suspect in the incident, where longstanding UNP Councillor T.M. Sangadasa’s name was removed and was replaced with one of Mr. Maharoof aides - Vijayapala. The UNP nominations list was rejected by the Returning Officer, as Supun Lakmal- the son of a municipal overseer and Baseline Road Ward organizer of the Party, said to be a close aide of Mr. Maharoof, had not reached 18 years as per the electoral list of 2004. The Party is arguing however on the relevant date by which the boy would be 18, before Court. The Party is still undecided on the line of the campaign for the upcoming Local Government Election mainly due to the dilemma faced with the cancellation of its nominations list for the CMC. The Party has failed to brief its candidates on the line of its campaign, although its Local Government Election Operations Committee has instructed members to launch a house to house campaign starting this week, where each candidate is expected to cover all households within the area of two polling booths, The Sunday Times learns. The
Election Operations Committee headed by Karu Jayasuriya, is to meet
tomorrow to decide on the line of campaigning and to issue guidelines
for candidates, Chairman of the UNP Local Government Committee,
P. Dayaratne said. CMC Chief Whip Titus Perera and Councillor Sharmila
Gonawela told The Sunday Times that the CMC dilemma has been an
impediment to the campaign as they were not in a position to display
party symbols or numbers. |
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