EC asks employers to grant workers leave for voting

By Rathindra Kuruwita

The Digamadulla electoral district has the highest number of political parties and independent groups contesting next month’s general election. There are as many as 64 of them, according to Commissioner General of Elections, Saman Sri Ratnayake.

The Polonnaruwa and Matale districts have fielded the fewest number of political parties and independent groups in the fray.

Of the 225 MPs, 29 are National List members. Seats are allocated on the basis of the electorates created according to a delimitation committee report from 1976. Ratnayake explained that, under Section 96(4) of the constitution, 36 seats are allocated to the nine provinces, with four seats each. A further 160 seats are allocated to electoral districts, as stipulated in Section 98 of the Constitution.

Addressing campaign finance laws, Ratnayake mentioned that Battaramulle Seelarathana Thero had not yet submitted his expenses report; 37 of the 38 presidential candidates had complied with the legal requirement. By the 13 October deadline, the Commission had received 35 reports, with two more arriving on 14 October, having been posted via registered mail on 11 October. The remaining candidate had written to the Commission to explain their inability to submit the report on time, Ratnayake said, noting that under campaign finance regulations, two reports must be submitted to the Commission: one by the candidate and the other by the political party. For independent candidates, the individual who proposed their candidacy must submit the expenses report. In the case of candidates representing political parties, it was the responsibility of the party General Secretaries to submit the reports. According to a gazette notification dated 16 August 2024, each presidential candidate was allowed to spend a maximum of 109 rupees per voter on campaign activities, amounting to over 1.8 billion rupees (approximately six million US dollars) per candidate. Of this, 60 per cent was allocated to the candidate and 40 per cent to the political party secretary managing the campaign. The reports submitted to the EC will be made available online and in person from 24 October.

“The Commission will meet this week to decide how to address the issue regarding Seelarathana Thero,” Ratnayake said. He said that, unlike the presidential election, where the expenditure ceiling was set at 109 rupees per voter, the general election has different limits depending on the electoral district. “There are 22 electoral districts, each with its own ceiling,” he said.

Ratnayake emphasised that voting was the right of all Sri Lankans and that no one should be obstructed from casting their vote. He urged employers to ensure that workers were given sufficient time to vote on 14 November. “We have received complaints ahead of the Elpitiya local council election on 26 October that some employers are not granting leave for employees to cast their vote. Employers are required to grant employees leave based on the distance to the polling station. This applies not only to the public sector. Do not compel us to take legal action,” he warned.

The Commissioner General said the manner in which the 21 September presidential election was conducted had been appreciated by both local and international observers, as well as by organisations and the diplomatic corps, as a model election. “Our elections are generally peaceful, especially on election day. The 21 September presidential election was particularly peaceful, and we must ensure this standard is maintained,” Ratnayake said.