By Mithun Jayawardhana
Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) reported that a total of 906 election-related incidents have been submitted to their website, apesalli.lk. Out of these, 615 incidents are classified as election law violations.
According to data from the TISL apesalli.lk website, the breakdown of reported incidents is as follows: Bribery – 46 incidents, Misuse of Public Funds or Property – 138 incidents, Misuse of Public Position – 32 incidents, Public Procurement Irregularities – 12 incidents, Conflict of Interest – 1 incident, and Other – 27 incidents.
TISL Executive Director Nadishani Perera urged citizens to actively report instances of public resource misuse during the election. She encouraged them to submit evidence of such incidents via the website www.apesalli.lk, the hotline at 0763223442 (WhatsApp available), or by fax at 011 2865777.
Perera highlighted that TISL will forward verified complaints to the Election Commission for preventive action and, if necessary, pursue legal action against serious incidents where substantial evidence is available. She also noted that TISL has deployed 200 election observers across the country to monitor the misuse of public resources for campaign purposes during the 2024 Presidential Election.
Continuing its efforts since 2004, TISL is focusing on scrutinising the misuse of public officials, public property, and state funds for election campaigning. This observation will continue until the official announcement of the election results. Perera stressed that the misuse of public resources is a significant form of corruption that affects the country throughout the year, not just during elections, depriving citizens of access to resources they are entitled to. She added that using public officials, their time, and expertise for any candidate’s campaign is unlawful and violates election rules and ethics.
Perera also noted an increase in reports of government employees interfering in the election and complaints about officials promoting political party politics during their duty hours.
At a media briefing held yesterday (4 September) at TISL’s premises in Nawala, she called on presidential candidates to conduct lawful and ethical campaigns without violating election laws. She emphasised that misuse of public resources undermines fair election outcomes and stressed the need for the Election Commission to take direct action on these complaints.
Meanwhile, Thushanie Kandilpana, National Coordinator of the Programme for the Protection of Public Resources (PPPR) at TISL, reported receiving 580 complaints about the misuse of public property during the 2024 presidential election period as of yesterday
(4 September).
The highest number of complaints, 130, came from the Kegalle district, while the lowest numbers were reported from Mullaitivu, Ampara and Kurunegala districts, with fewer than 10 complaints each. Other notable figures include 89 complaints from Colombo, 53 from Galle, 29 from Batticaloa, 26 from Badulla, 26 from Gampaha, and 21 from Jaffna.
These complaints include issues such as paying various allowances to public servants, carrying out development activities at religious sites, giving scholarships, initiating housing projects, providing computers, using state buildings and sports complexes for election rallies, and misusing the President’s Media Division to promote certain candidates.
Kandilpana stressed that the trend of election law violations is increasing and urged the Election Commission to exercise its full powers to address these issues. She warned that failure to do so could result in the violation of the people’s right to vote.
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