News
Commonwealth marks 200 election observations with SL election
A Commonwealth Observer Group (COG) has arrived in Colombo for presidential election, marking the Commonwealth’s 200th election observation since it began observing in the 1980s.
The country heads to the polls on 21 September, with a 15-person Observer Group deployed by the Commonwealth Secretary-General to observe the entire process, following an invitation from Sri Lanka’s Election Commission.
In a press statement in Colombo, Chairperson of the Group, former President of Seychelles Danny Faure, said he was honoured to be in Sri Lanka to mark the Commonwealth’s 200th election observation milestone.
He said: “We are here as part of the Commonwealth’s full electoral cycle approach in its engagement with member countries, to help strengthen democratic institutions and processes, and enable citizen participation and representation during elections.
“On Saturday 21st, Sri Lankans will head to the polls, coinciding with the International Day of Peace. This globally shared day is a commitment by all humanity to prioritise peace above all other considerations and work towards building a culture of peace. This is in line with the Commonwealth values as reflected in the Commonwealth Charter, which calls for free and democratic societies and the promotion of peace and prosperity, thereby improving the lives of all people.”
On 11 and 12 September, members of the support team observed the advance voting in Colombo – referred to as postal voting – the purpose of which is to enable eligible voters who cannot vote in person on 21 September to cast their ballots.
Meanwhile the observer group has begun meeting several stakeholders; they have met representatives of civil society, political parties, the police, and will meet more, including the Sri Lanka Election Commission, citizen observers and election monitors, and the media in the run-up to the election.
The observer group’s mandate, is to observe and evaluate all aspects of the pre-election environment, polling day activities, and the post-election period.
From 19 September, the group will deploy observers in small teams to different provinces to observe electoral preparations and meet with local stakeholders in their respective locations.
On Election Day, they will observe the opening, voting, closing, counting, and results management processes, and will issue an interim statement on their preliminary findings on 23 September 2024.
The Group will then submit a final report that will make recommendations on various aspects of the electoral process.
Members of the Commonwealth Observer Group: Chairperson: Danny Faure, former President of Seychelles, the Commonwealth Observer Group members, in alphabetical order by country name, are: Ian Hughes, Supervisor of Elections, Antigua and Barbuda Electoral Commission, Antigua and Barbuda, Allyson Maynard Gibson, Former Attorney-General and Minister for Legal Affairs, The Bahamas, Josephine Tamai, Chief Elections Officer, Belize, Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls, Programme Manager: Pacific Women Mediators Network, Fiji, Jayna Pankaj Kothari, Senior Advocate, Supreme Court of India, Tres-Ann Kremer, Regional Director-Caribbean, Tony Blair Institute for Global Change, Jamaica, Ambassador Manoah Esipisu, Former Kenyan High Commissioner to the United Kingdom, Kenya, Sara Naseem, Former Communications & Advocacy Manager, Transparency Maldives, Maldives, Maryan Street MNZM, Former Cabinet Minister, New Zealand, Dr Aderemi Ajibewa , Former Political Director ECOWAS, Nigeria, Mohammad Amir Wasim, Bureau Chief, Daily Dawn, Pakistan, Cynthia Barrow-Giles, Professor of Constitutional Governance and Politics, The University of the West Indies, Saint Lucia, Professor Mandla Mchunu, Former Chief Electoral Officer, Electoral Commission, South Africa, and Dr Victor Shale, Governance and Elections Expert, South Africa.
COPF final report on USD 2.5 mn cyber fraud recommends action against all responsible
The US$2.5 million loss incurred during Sri Lanka’s foreign debt repayment to Australia was a clear case of a cybercrime and theft, Committee on Public Finance (COPF) Chairman Dr. Harsha de Silva told Parliament yesterday.
Presenting the COPF final report on the cyber fraud, Dr. de Silva said the incident amounted to a serious financial crime and called for a comprehensive investigation, by law enforcement authorities, to identify and prosecute all those responsible.
The report revealed serious governance, procedural and operational failures that enabled the fraudulent transfer of public funds, while recommending sweeping reforms to strengthen cybersecurity, financial controls and public debt management systems.
According to the report, officials of the Treasury and the Central Bank bore responsibility for governance lapses that contributed to the failures. It also highlighted the fact that the Ministry of Finance was operating an outdated Microsoft Exchange Server after security support had ended, while basic safeguards, such as multi-factor authentication, had not been implemented.
The COPF said suspicious payment instructions linked to debt repayments involving India, the United Kingdom, Germany and Belgium had also been detected, preventing further losses. However, the US$ 2.5 million fraud materialised only in the repayment transaction involving Australia.
The report has noted that officials had failed to verify lender email domains, relied on unverified email communications and lacked adequate internal controls, allowing the fraud to continue for months.
Although the investigation uncovered system-wide weaknesses across several institutions, only four mid-level Finance Ministry officials had been suspended so far, the report said.
The COPF has recommended a special audit of the foreign debt repayment process, strengthened cybersecurity measures across state institutions, updated financial regulations and improvements to public debt management systems.
by Saman Indrajith
News
Opposition signs no-confidence motion against Justice Minister for dereliction of duty over Negombo Prison deaths
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa, together with Opposition MPs, yesterday signed a No-Confidence Motion (NCM) in Parliament against Justice Minister Harshana Nanayakkara.The move comes in response to the unrest at the Negombo Prison, where both prison officers and inmates were killed.
Opposition members said the Minister had failed to fulfill his responsibility and accountability regarding their safety.According to the Opposition group, the NCM seeks to hold the Minister directly accountable for lapses in ensuring protection within the prison system.
The Attorney General yesterday informed the Supreme Court that the government has decided to review the legality of agreements entered into by the previous administration to hand over the country’s electronic visa issuance operations to private companies.
Additional Solicitor General Viveka Siriwardena, appearing for the Attorney General, made the submission when the Supreme Court took up the fundamental rights petitions filed by former MPs President’s Counsel M.A. Sumanthiran, Patali Champika Ranawaka, and Rauff Hakeem, challenging the previous Cabinet’s decision to outsource the e-visa system.
The petitions were heard before a three-judge bench, comprising Chief Justice Preethi Padman Surasena and Justices Achala Wengappuli and Arjuna Obeyesekere.
The Additional Solicitor General informed court that the current Cabinet had appointed a subcommittee to examine the legality of the agreements with the private companies and requested time to report on its findings, stating that the review was still underway.
President’s Counsel Sumanthiran, appearing as one of the petitioners, told the court that although the present government had indicated its intention to cancel the transaction, the petitioners wished to proceed with the case.
He noted that members of the current Cabinet had been named as respondents in the petitions.The Supreme Court directed the petitioners to issue notice on the members of the current Cabinet, named as respondents, and fixed September 29 for further proceedings.
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Showers will occur in the Sabaragamuwa, Western and North-western provinces and in Galle, Matara, Kandy and Nuwara-Eliya districts
US$ 2.5 mn cyber heist exposes system failures
Opposition signs no-confidence motion against Justice Minister for dereliction of duty over Negombo Prison deaths
AG informs SC of e-visa agreement review
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