Sri Lanka’s poll monitors collectively said the government’s move to introduce ‘Regulation of Election Expenditure Bill’ should not be used to delay the upcoming local government polls, in which the ruling government coalition parties are likely to face a defeat.
The party leaders have decided to debate the proposed Bill in the parliament on Thursday after a meeting headed by President Ranil Wickremesinghe. The Bill seeks to regulate election campaign financing.
“However, the Bill…. is woefully inadequate to serve these purposes,” said the collective of election monitoring organizations comprising Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL), People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) and Institute for Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies (IRES).
The collective re-emphasized the critical need for election campaign financing regulation in Sri Lanka, but called upon the government to close loopholes including inadequate monitoring mechanism, unregulated third-party spending, and unlimited campaign donations and to engage in a consultative process with the public, without rushing its passage in Parliament.
“The collective further reiterates that the introduction of a campaign financing law should in no instance be used as a reason to delay the holding of the local government elections,” the collective of election monitoring organizations said in a statement.
Sri Lanka does not have a campaign financing law in the country and it has been exploited to buy votes through spending from well connected businesses during elections and such moves have deprived genuine politicians from being elected for legislatures as well as local government bodies.
Wickremesinghe government is facing a tough scenario in the event of the Local Government polls being held in March as per schedule. The election can be delayed by either a parliament bill or the Election Commission seeing some resignations, analysts say.
Since being elected as the President through the parliament vote, Wickremesinghe has raised taxes and announced some reforms including slashing government spending. The moves have already hit the average household.
Sources close to Wickremesinghe have said the President has been not in favour “any elections” this year as the tough reforms are expected to be implemented along with a $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund (IMF) loan.
Many political analysts see a possible defeat to both Wickremesinghe’s center-right United National Party (UNP) and the ruling Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP). Such defeats could slow the reforms and IMF loan, they say.
( source: Economynext)