Twenty of the 158 complaints of election law violations that the Election Commission received were filed in the 24 hours prior to Friday morning at 9 a.m., the commission announced on Friday.99 percent of these complaints, according to People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), centre on the abuse of public resources and authority. According to PAFFREL Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi, the government is currently hiring 150 labourers for Lanka Mineral Sands in Pulmoddai.
“complaints of violations of election law gaining momentum”
“The Election Commission stopped the recruitment after we intervened. But 46 individuals had already been employed. Despite there being no openings, these people were hired after the election was announced, according to Hettiarachchi.Additionally, he forewarned state officials that their actions could have dire legal repercussions.
Election oversight organisations are also closely examining President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s use of the Waters Edge property for election-related purposes. The Institute for Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies’ (IRES) Executive Director, Manjula Gajanayake, announced that the Election Commission has received a complaint and has since obtained a statement from the hotel’s manager.”The manager told the commission that the president’s meetings were paid for by the line minister.” We’ve submitted a Right to Information (RTI) request to find out if these costs were paid for with public money. We will take legal action if it turns out that public funds were actually utilised, Gajanayake declared.
In addition, the Ceylon Petroleum Corporation (CPC) is under investigation by the Election Commission for allegedly granting permits to government supporters to operate petrol stations.
“Several CPC petrol stations have recently been transferred to individuals and companies, with some discrepancies noted,” stated Gajanayake. Previously run by the CPC, a few petrol stations were given to private owners at no cost. In this case, the president’s office is involved.
