Election monitoring body the People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections has written to the Election Commission once again calling for action to be taken against state officials who failed to extend their support for the conduct of the 2023 Local Government Election.
Executive Director of PAFFREL Rohana Hettiarachchi said while the election is scheduled to be held on the 9th of March, it has been continuously observed that state officials expected to support such constitutional tasks were obstructing by citing various reasons.
The letter stated that when an election is conducted, the support of all state institutions and officials, including the Ministry of Finance, Police, Government Printer, Ceylon Petroleum Corporation, and the Ministry of Public Administration, are essential factors.
However, Hettiarachchi said unfortunately, they observed that due to the non-compliance of the above parties the election process has been severely affected.
The letter said such a situation is harmful in terms of democratic practices and is likely to set a bad precedent for future elections.
Accordingly, Rohana Hettiarachchi requested the Election Commission to inform the organisation of the steps that have been taken according to powers vested with the Election Commission as guaranteed in the Constitution against officials who have failed to fulfil their tasks.
