A significant discrepancy concerning government claims is set to emerge just before the postal vote. Despite recent announcements about increased salaries for public servants, the Election Commission has confirmed that no official cabinet paper on the matter exists.
The government had previously stated that a cabinet approval was secured for salary hikes for government employees starting January next year. However, the Election Commission has verified that no such cabinet paper has been adopted.
This issue has prompted multiple complaints to the Election Commission from various parties and election monitoring organizations.
In response to inquiries, the Election Commission affirmed that no cabinet paper on this subject exists. The Commission’s Chairman, Mr. Ananda Ratnayake, assured that all complaints would be addressed according to the law and emphasized the Commission’s commitment to ensuring a free and fair election. He also stressed that no party would be permitted to breach election laws.
Mr. Rohana Hettiarachchi, Executive Director of PAFFREL, confirmed that there is no cabinet paper related to the proposed salary increases. He also noted that PAFFREL had filed complaints with the Commission regarding these salary increase announcements.
Mr. Hettiarachchi criticized the timing of these cabinet decisions, including salary increases and farmer loan write-offs, as a blatant violation of election laws, especially in the context of an impending presidential election. He urged the public to not be misled by these purported announcements, labeling them as attempts by the government to deceive voters during a critical election period.
He added that it would be practically impossible to implement these salary increases immediately, and should they attempt to do so, the Election Commission has the authority to halt it.
In a statement to the Monera newspaper today (September 9), Mr. Hettiarachchi described the government’s claims about cabinet decisions on salary increases and loan write-offs as baseless propaganda.
