The Department of Government Information has issued a formal clarification in response to a newspaper report claiming that the National Election Commission had sent a letter to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake concerning an alleged violation of election laws.
According to the statement released by the department, inquiries made from the parties mentioned in the article have confirmed that the report is false.
Referring to a prominent news story published today in a national newspaper, the Department of Government Information emphasized that the Election Commission has not issued any such letter to the President.
The newspaper report had stated that a complaint was lodged with the Election Commission, alleging that the President violated election laws through a recent speech made at a political event in the lead-up to the local government elections.
Additionally, the article claimed that election monitoring bodies raised concerns over the President’s remarks, in which he reportedly stated he would not allocate funds to unelected local government institutions predominantly comprising members of the National People’s Power (NPP).
According to the report, these monitoring agencies had informed the Election Commission that the President—who also serves as the Minister of Finance—had breached election laws through his statement.
The newspaper further asserted that sources within the Election Commission had confirmed the commission had sent a letter to the President regarding the alleged violation.
However, the Department of Government Information has now confirmed that investigations carried out into the matter revealed no such letter was sent, and the contents of the news report are inaccurate.
As of now, the National Election Commission has not issued a public response to the media report.
Newswire
