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Many candidates failed to meet requirements under the new Election Expenditure Act
View(s):By Tharushi Weerasinghe
Most of the election campaign finance submissions released for public review last Thursday, do not meet the Election Expenditure Act 2023 requirements.
The new finance regulation, implemented for the first time in Sri Lanka’s electoral history, sets out the criteria that candidates must follow when declaring their expenses for elections they participate in. These include information on donors, their identification and tax information, expenditures on all fronts, and supporting documents like bills and receipts.
However, the Sunday Times found that out of the 35 submissions made, many candidates, including frontrunners, had failed to meet these requirements.
An analysis of the submissions by the Sunday Times revealed that only 16 candidates submitted supporting documents for their campaign expenditures, and 19 candidates submitted information relating to donations and incomes used to fund their campaign. Only 12 candidates submitted both categories of data. Reporting formats between the submissions also varied greatly, with significant inconsistencies in how expenditure totals were reported.
Former President Wickremesinghe’s submission, the shortest in all the records released, contained a one-page document with a notarised list of his campaign expenses. However, he failed to provide the Election Commission with supporting documents, including donor information and supporting documents proving the expenses.
Election Commission Chairman R.M.A.L Rathnayaka told the Sunday Times that the former president had submitted some supporting documents after the deadline – but whether or not this can be considered and released to the public as per the current law was unclear to the EC. “We are waiting for the Attorney General’s advice on this,” he noted. Mr. Rathnayaka added that the EC is not empowered to do anything more than collect and publicise the information that candidates provide within the deadline.
Under the law, any citizen can file a complaint regarding discrepancies in publicised information to the Election Commission (EC), which then reports these issues to the Sri Lanka Police for further action. The Election Expenditure Act also does not empower the EC to penalise candidates who fail to meet all the reporting requirements – “if a candidate submits so much as a piece of paper, we have to consider it done,” the Chairman noted.
“The Act passed is significantly weaker than the legal instrument we initially submitted and wanted, so the loopholes are glaring now,” said Election Commissioner General Saman Sri Ratnayake. He noted that one of the EC’s main requests had been for the parties and candidates to be required to use one bank account for their campaign-related inflows and outflows. “This would have made monitoring easier and more streamlined on multiple fronts.” He added that even donors who have not been credited in the submissions can file complaints about any lapses. The Act requires identifying the sources of finance for campaigns, which would be significantly easier if one account was used.
The Commissioner General held that if actions are filed regarding these discrepancies and the candidate is found guilty of a violation, they will be liable to pay a fine of Rs.100,000 and a 3-year prison sentence.
“As far as I know, only the NPP has submitted their records per the regulations.” NPP leader and President Anura Kumara Dissanayake submitted the largest docket of records, which went over 1600 pages of bills, donor information including national identity card numbers, tax identification numbers, a revenue report and expenditure breakdowns under S.5 (1) of the Expenditure Act.
Former Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, whose expenditure was the highest, also provided a detailed campaign breakdown but needed to provide supporting documents like receipts or bills. The only income reported for the Samagi Jana Balawegaya was from ticket sales and the party fund. Namal Rajapaksa provided detailed breakdowns and supporting documents in compliance with the Election Expenditure Act.
However, the absence of an effective system of checks and balances on the information provided may prove to be an issue, especially where the veracity of the information provided is concerned. One candidate listed the purchase of an iPad for Rs.1000. Most candidates who also reported their phone bills for the relevant period claimed bills under Rs.20,000, and personal transport expenses for campaign activities were often between Rs.5000 – Rs.15, 000.
“The verification of the returns seems to solely depend on the public and watchdogs, so accountability is now our responsibility,” noted Maleen Danushka, Communications Manager at Transparency International Sri Lanka. He noted that TISL will be analysing the records submitted by candidates and comparing them with the results of the “Chanda Salli Meetere” campaign expenditure monitoring tool. “We will be taking action against any verifiable discrepancies in candidate submissions.”
He added that accurate records of the money behind party campaigns are an essential element of transparency during elections, and spending limits ensure that inequalities between candidates are controlled to some extent.
The absence of donor information on multiple submissions was problematic, as the Expenditure Act regulates what organisations and individuals are allowed to sponsor a candidate or party. The Act also outlines the categories of expenditures that must be recorded, but many candidates have not made this distinction in their submissions. The submission of false information and the failure to submit information without reasonable explanation violates S.1(6) of the Expenditure Act.
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