PAFFREL URGES GOVT. TO LEGISLATE ON CAMPAIGN FINANCING
Ahead of LG polls
Ahead of local government elections planned for next year, an election monitoring body has urged the government to legislate on campaign financing by candidates.
Thus, People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) requests Minister Kabir Hashim, the General Secretary of the ruling United National Party (UNP), to take swift action in this direction.
Its Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi writes, “An electoralward specific representation has been debated in the public domain over a period of time. Consequent to that, the foundation has been laid for conducting local authorities’ election under the ward system. Nonetheless, unless attention is paid for the following matters, the
An electoral-ward specific representation has been debated in the public domain over a period of time
desired purpose of such an election system cannot be served. It will impact negatively on the public mandate to be determined at elections.
1. The amount of money, spent by a candidate for an entire local government area during the past elections, is now slated to be spent for a ward which is spread only across a small area of one or two Grama Seva Divisions. It would amount to buying votes at the end.
2. In the absence of a ceiling for spending, persons, competent and committed to work for the good of people, will opt out of politics if they do not command money power. 3: In the absence of measures to control spending, individuals with ill-gotten wealth will enter politics with their money power. Coupled with political power, they will further their anti-social activities for monetary gains in the eventual context. 4: In the absence of measures to control spending, candidates will be compelled to spend all their earnings or to accept financial donations from businessmen for financing their propaganda activities. In return, these candidates, upon election to office, will look for ways and means to regain their wealth or to help campaign time sponsors to make more and more money.