The main Parliamentary Opposition Party, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), lodged a formal complaint yesterday (22) with the Election Commission (EC) regarding the alleged misuse of Police officers and resources for election campaigning purposes.
The complaint was lodged by the SJB General Secretary, Opposition Parliamentarian Ranjith Madduma Bandara and a few other SJB MPs. In the complaint, Madduma Bandara asserted that members of the Community Police Advisory Committees are orchestrating events purportedly as workshops organised by the President. The SJB alleged that these events however are claimed to serve as tactics for election campaigns at the District level. The SJB’s complaint highlights that the next set of these District level programmes are scheduled to take place in the Nuwara Eliya, Ratnapura, Kegalle, and Galle Districts in the coming days. The complaint further noted that the use of Police resources for these events has raised concerns about the impartiality and fairness of the electoral process.
Madduma Bandara handed over the complaint to the EC Chairperson R.M.A.L. Rathnayake, calling for a thorough investigation into these allegations and has urged the EC to ensure that such activities cease immediately.
Attempts made to contact the Police Department’s Media Unit and the Community Police Unit proved futile.