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CMEV takes serious note of AKD’s rally speeches
View(s):- Complains to EC, saying they were a clear violation of election laws
By Sandun Jayawardana
The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission (EC) against President Anura Kumara Dissanayake for violating election laws while campaigning for the 2025 local government election.
The complaint concerns two election rally speeches made by President Dissanayake on March 31 at Buttala and on March 29 at Tissamaharama.
The CMEV notes that in his speech at Buttala, the President said the government needed a good local government mechanism that would pave the way for it to allocate funds for these authorities without any concerns. If anyone other than the National People’s Power (NPP) were to obtain control of a local government authority, the government would need to scrutinise every single one of that authority’s proposals to ensure there was no irregularity, which could lead to funds being withheld.
The President had further stated that given what previous rulers had done in the past, the government had no trust in other groups, the CMEV alleges.
During his speech at Tissamaharama, the President had stated that proposals will be accepted from June onwards for the upcoming Budget in November.
He had pointed out that the Pradeshiya Sabhas have to be in place by then to submit their proposals through the District Secretary. Given that the change started through the central government needed to happen in the villages as well, the President had asked if that change could come if control of the local Pradeshiya Sabha was given to anyone other than the NPP, according to the CMEV.
The CMEV’s complaint, lodged by its Chief Operations Officer Prof. Arjuna Parakrama, states that the organisation believes that the President’s statements on these two occasions amount to “a serious and clear violation of Section 82C (Undue Influence) and 82D (Bribery) of the Local Authorities Election Ordinance (as revised).”
Given that the comments at these rallies have been made by the President, who is also the Finance Minister and the person directly responsible for the allocation of funds, it is a serious issue, Prof. Parakrama told the Sunday Times, explaining the organisation’s complaint.
The EC on Friday also temporarily suspended the government’s initiative to distribute food packages to low income families during the new year season until after the local government polls scheduled for May 6.
Rohana Hettiarachchi, Executive Director of the People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) welcomed the EC’s decision. He noted PAFFREL went to court during the last presidential election and obtained a court order to prevent the previous government from abusing state-sponsored welfare programmes. “This government was in the opposition then and they were highly vocal about these issues. They can’t now implement the same thing even in a simple manner,” he stressed. He said the number of complaints of misusing government resources for election campaigning was quite low, but that even one or two cases should not occur.
Police have also arrested several suspects over the past few days for pasting campaign posters in violation of election laws.
Meanwhile, there have been complaints about candidates from various parties indirectly bribing voters by supporting musical shows and new year festivals, as well as a few complaints of candidates distributing school books to students, Mr Hettiarachchi added. “If someone comes and bribes you, they are not qualified to be your representatives, because a majority of them will try to get back their money when they are in a position to control public funds,” he said, urging voters to reject such candidates.
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