Rohana Hettiarachchi, Executive Director of the People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), states that 30 incidents involving the misuse of state power and state resources have been reported in connection with the ongoing local government elections.
Of these, 14 cases have been confirmed, according to Hettiarachchi. In total, PAFFREL has received reports of 322 violations of election laws thus far.
Among these incidents, 18 have been classified as violent in nature, with 17 of them confirmed to date.
Hettiarachchi further revealed that 38 cases involving voter assistance and bribery have also been reported. However, he noted that given the scale of the election—where approximately 70,000 candidates are contesting—this is not considered a serious concern at this stage.
He added that several candidates have been arrested and one candidate has lost their life. However, investigations have not yet confirmed any direct connection between the death and the election.
Commenting further, Hettiarachchi emphasized that while certain public statements made through state authority may not have a direct impact, they can nonetheless exert an indirect influence on voters.
