Connect with us

News

Election Campaign Finance to be regulated soon – EC chief

Published

on

Text and pictures by PRIYAN DE SILVA

Chairman of the Election Commission of Sri Lanka, Nimal Punchihewa says a draft Bill to regulate expenditure incurred by candidates at elections conducted under the Local Authorities Elections Ordinance, the Provincial Councils Elections Act, the Parliamentary Elections Act and the Presidential Elections Act’ drawn up by the Election Commission of Sri Lanka has been approved by the Attorney General and submitted to the President. If approved by the President, the Bill will be presented to Parliament for ratification.The need for regulating campaign finance has arisen as some candidates and political parties spend billions of rupees to ‘buy’ votes.

Both the People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFEREL) and the CMEV campaigned for regulating campaign finance and Manjula Gajanayake the National Coordinator of the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) at the time took the initiative to set up a special team to keep tabs on the colossal amounts political parties and candidates spent on their election campaigns.

Gajanayake said that the CMEV had spent 15 million rupees to monitor campaign finance at the 2019 Presidential Election and 2020 General Election. He said that the CMEV reports showed that approximately 7,800 million rupees had been spent at these two elections but it was just the tip of the iceberg.

Gajanayake said that Sirithunga Jayasuriya, who contested the 2019 Presidential Election and former MP Ranjan Ramanayake, who contested the 2020 Parliamentary Election, were the only candidates who had disclosed their campaign expenditure.

Gajanayake, who is currently the Executive Director of the Institute of Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies (IRES), said that IRES would monitor campaign spending at future elections. He said that the Election Commission of Sri Lanka should set up a special committee to review the maximum amount each candidate and political party could spend on their campaign at each election and added that it was imperative that the source of funding was disclosed and spending made transparent.He said that laws should be introduced to unseat anyone found guilty of spending over and above the stipulated ceiling; introducing a regulatory mechanism to control campaign finance would undoubtedly change the Sri Lankan election landscape in the future.



Continue Reading
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

News

UN asks govt. to vacate ‘remaining lands still occupied and used economically by the military’

Published

on

Volker Türk

Military-held land down to 9% in North and East

The Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) has said that the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Volker Türk, during discussions with the Sri Lankan government, stressed the importance of releasing the remaining lands still occupied and used economically by the military.

OHCHR has included updated information provided by the government on land releases in its reports to the Human Rights Council, the OHCHR said.

OHCHR team member Jeremy Laurence said so in response to The Island query regarding the HC’s call for release of land which both serving and retired officers considered unfair.

The Island posed the following question to the HC’s office: “At the conclusion of the UNHRC Chief’s visit to Sri Lanka recently, one of the issues he raised was the failure on the part of the armed forces to vacate public and private property held in the Northern and Eastern provinces. However, the military insists that approximately 91% of the total land held at the time of the conclusion of military operations, in May 2009, had been released. We would like to know whether the UNHRC Chief hadn’t been briefed by the government of Sri Lanka or the UN Mission in Colombo on the vacation of approximately 91% of the land held by the military in 2009.

The Island contacted OHCHR as suggested by the UN Mission in Colombo.

The military pointed out that of over 24,000 acres held in the Jaffna and Kilinochchi sectors in 2009, less than 2,500 acres remained in their hands. “We are down to the bare minimum. Further reductions will pose major challenges,” one retired officer said.

By Shamindra Ferdinando

Continue Reading

News

Need to attend to sick wild elephants promptly discussed at high-level meeting

Published

on

A high-level discussion on the urgent treatment of sick wild elephants was held on Monday (July 7) at the Ministry of Environment under the patronage of Minister of Environment Dr. Dhammika Patabendi and Deputy Minister Anton Jayakody.

Senior veterinary officers representing the Wildlife and Zoological Parks Veterinary Officers’ Association participated in the discussion alongside Secretary to the Ministry of Environment Rohitha Udawawala and Director of Veterinary Services of the Department of Wildlife Conservation Dr. Tharaka Prasad.

The focus of the meeting was to streamline rapid response measures to treat elephants suffering from illnesses in the wild and to ensure timely access to life-saving antibiotics and medical resources.

Commenting on the need for swift intervention, Environment Minister Dr. Dhammika Patabendi said:

“We cannot allow delays when it comes to the treatment of our wild elephants, especially those suffering from life-threatening conditions. These majestic creatures are an integral part of our natural heritage, and it is our duty to act fast. We are committed to providing our veterinary officers with the tools, resources, and policy support necessary to carry out this responsibility efficiently.”

Discussions also focused on identifying infected elephants promptly, administering treatment without delay, and addressing any shortages in medical supplies such as antibiotics. The officials explored avenues to ensure logistical and infrastructural support for veterinarians working in the field.

Significant attention was drawn to the existing cadre shortages within the Department of Wildlife Conservation’s veterinary and technical teams. Plans were discussed to address these gaps with the approval of the Department of Management Services and the Ministry of Public Administration.

Additionally, the need to provide field veterinarians with appropriate technical facilities and mobility support was emphasized as a key priority in enabling effective on-ground operations.

The meeting concluded with an understanding that urgent procedural and administrative steps would be taken to fast-track recruitment, supply of medication, and operational improvements necessary to protect the health of Sri Lanka’s wild elephant population.

By Ifham Nizam

Continue Reading

News

Navy seizes contraband pesticides and seeds in Puttalam and Kalpitiya

Published

on

The Navy detected a significant haul of smuggled pesticides and seeds during operations conducted in Puttalam and Kalpitiya from 20 to 30 June, 2025. The separate operations also resulted in two dinghies and a lorry also being taken into custody, Navy Headquarters said.

In a search operation on 20 June, the Northwestern Naval Command’s SLNS Vijaya inspected a suspicious lorry near Alankuda Beach, Puttalam, resulting in the vehicle, along with 32 sacks of pesticide materials and seeds suspected to have been smuggled into the country, being taken into custody.

On 28 June, during another search near Ippantivu Island, Kalpitiya, naval personnel spotted and took into custody two dinghies carrying 15 sacks of pesticide materials intended for smuggling.

It is suspected that the smugglers abandoned the contraband, along with the lorry and dinghies, due to heightened naval surveillance. The seized items were handed over to the Katunayake Customs Preventive Office for further investigation and legal action.

Continue Reading

Trending