TISL urges ruling NPP to respect election laws
COLOMBO – Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL), the local corruption watchdog urged President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s National People’s Power (NPP) government to respect election laws amid complaints about politically-motivated appointments to the public sector.
The TISL said it had deployed approximately 160 election observers across all districts to monitor the misuse of public resources during the General Election 2024.
Since October 14, TISL has received 70 complaints, with many related to new appointments made in public institutions, it said.
“We have received information about a contesting candidate being appointed to a public service position. A formal complaint was lodged with the Election Commission regarding this,” Thushanie Kandilpana, TISL’s National Coordinator of the Program for the Protection of Public Resources (PPPR) told reporters at a media briefing on Thursday (24).
The Election Commission in a statement said it had received 600 complaints including 581 incidents of violating election laws and four violent incidences in the 29 days through October 23.
“We are closely monitoring the new ruling party for any misuse of public resources during its election campaign. Several new governors, ministry secretaries, and chairpersons have been appointed by the interim government, and some may have political affiliations,” Kandilpana said.
“We remind them to respect election laws, especially as stewards of public property. In the previous election, we saw significant misuse of power and public vehicles by governors for political purposes.”
During last month’s Presidential Election, TISL received 117 complaints involving public officials, and the Election Commission subsequently removed over 40 of them from election duties.
“We are currently following up on this complaint with the Ministry of Industries, and we will not hesitate to initiate legal action if it is not properly addressed,” Kandilpana added.
The TISL has urged citizens to report any misuse of public resources during the election with evidence via www.apesalli.lk website, 0763223442 hotline and WhatsApp, or fax at 0112865777.
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