It is reported that the Election Commission has notified the Treasury that 800 million rupees is needed as the first installment of state funds to cover the basic costs of conducting the local government polls, and the Treasury has received a certificate that the money will be released.
When asked about this, the Commissioner General of the Election Commission, Mr. Saman Sri Ratnayake, said, “We need about 800 million rupees as the first installment for election expenses.” It is not expected that there will be any problem regarding the provision of money for the election or the release of money from the treasury.’
“The money has always been disbursed in phases. This has always been the case not only for the Election Commission but also for other institutions. The commission has been allocated money in the budget and the treasury will give us the money accordingly. The gazette announcement related to the election day will be published by February 21,’ said Mr. Ratnayake.
Meanwhile, Treasury Deputy Secretary R.M.P. Ratnayake said that if there is a problem with finding money, the government will sell treasury bonds to fund the election.
“We need to free up money. If we face a cash flow problem, we go to the market and borrow at high interest rates.” He said.
He said that the treasury will not release all the money earmarked for the election at once, but it will be done in phases as per the normal procedure.