News
CODI facilitates meet between TU leaders and election monitors
Text and picture by PRIYAN DE SILVA
The Coalition for Democratic and Inclusive Elections (CODI) held a meeting between heads of Election Monitoring missions and leading trade unionists to prevent the misuse of state resources for campaigning at the forthcoming LG poll,
Heads of the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV), Campaign for a Free and Free Elections (CaFFE), People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL), Institute for Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies (IRES) and Mothers and Daughters of Lanka (MDL) met with over fifty leaders of powerful trade unions in the country at the Renuka City Hotel on Tuesday (24) morning.
The objective of the meeting was to encourage the trade unions to act as whistleblowers whenever state resources are being used for campaigning. The TU leaders said that misuse of state resources for campaigning was inevitable if the local government bodies were functioning and said that it was imperative that the present LG bodies be dissolved immediately.
The Election monitors pointed out that the Election Commission of Sri Lanka by government gazette No 2313/32 of 4th January 2023 had issued
Directions to prevent the misuse of movable or immovable properties belonging to the State, State Corporations or Statutory Boards during the period of an election for the promotion of or in prejudice to any party, group or candidate or obstructing the conduct of the election.
The polls monitors requested the trade unions to inform them together with sufficient evidence if state resources are being misused and reiterated that the Administrative Secretary or the Municipal Commissioner of the local government body would be answerable.
Silja Paasilinna Country Director of the International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES), Udeni Dissanayake (Chairman of the All Ceylon Management Services Officers Association), Dharmasiri Nanayakkara (former Deputy Commissioner of Local Government) Manjula Gajanayake (Executive Director IRES and Convenor CODI), D M Dissanayaka (National Coordinator CMEV), Daya Herath (National Coordinator MDL), Rohana Hettiarachchi (Executive Director PAFFREL), Sankhitha Goonerathne (Deputy Executive Director TISL), Manas Makeen (Executive Director CaFFE) and Harindra Banagala (Director-Legal CaFFE) addressed those present.
Accepting deposits from political parties and independent groups who intend to contest the forthcoming Local Authorities Election ended at 12noon today [19].
Deposits were accepted at respective District Secretariats from 3rd March 2025.
The Elections Commission has announced that the deadline for the accepting of nominations for the LA poll is set to conclude at 12:00 noon tomorrow (20).
It has been reported that the former Inspector General of Police (IGP) Deshabandu Tennakoon has appeared before the Matara Magistrate’s Court this morning (19),
The former IGP had been evading arrest after the Matara Magistrate’s court had ordered his arrest regarding a shooting incident that took place in front of the W15 Hotel Pelena, Weligama, Matara, in 2023.
The government has begun recovering funds obtained by former Lands and Land Development, Environment and Wildlife Resources Minister SM Chandrasena for the Janatha Lanka Chilli Marketing Limited (JLCML), which he headed, Parliament was informed yesterday.
Agriculture, Livestock, Land, and Irrigation Minister Namal Karunaratne said that as the Chairman of JLCML, Chandrasena had obtained a loan of Rs. 1,275,000 from the Mihintale Govijana Seva Bank in 2001.
The principal of the loan had not been repaid until the end of last year. “After we came to power, we demanded that the loan be settled. Then, we discovered that the interest on the loan had not been paid for the past 24 years, and attempts had been made to have the loan written off. We stopped that and are now in the process of recovering the interest of Rs. 1,975,233 on the loan,” Karunaratne said.
Karunaratne added that JLCML was registered as a company with the Registrar of Companies on March 21, 2001. As Chairman of the company, Chandrasena requested a loan of Rs. 10 million on April 19, 2001, for the purpose of purchasing chillies from farmers in 12 farmer colonies in the Mihintale Agrarian Service area.
The request was approved by the Mihintale Agrarian Service Committee on the same day and referred to the Anuradhapura District Agrarian Operations Committee, which approved it on April 23, 2001. However, the Agriculture Development Commissioner General recommended that a loan of Rs. 1.2 million would suffice for this purpose. JLCML took the loan and failed to repay it until the end of last year. When the matter was raised, the principal was paid, and we are now in the process of recovering the interest that was not paid for the past 24 years,” Karunaratne added.
By Saman Indrajith
Accepting deposits for Local Authorities Election concludes
At least 12 dead in Honduras plane crash
Putin agrees in Trump call to pause Ukraine energy attacks but no full ceasefire
-
Foreign News4 days agoSearch continues in Dominican Republic for missing student Sudiksha Konanki
-
Features7 days agoRichard de Zoysa at 67
-
Features4 days agoThe Royal-Thomian and its Timeless Charm
-
News5 days agoDPMC unveils brand-new Bajaj three-wheeler
-
Features4 days ago‘Thomia’: Richard Simon’s Masterpiece
-
Sports2 days agoSri Lanka to compete against USA, Jamaica in relay finals
-
Features7 days agoSL Navy helping save kidneys
-
Features6 days agoWomen’s struggles and men’s unions