EC acts on complaints to stop public sector recruitment, promotions, transfers
The Elections Commission (EC) is taking strict action regarding recruitment, promotions or transfers of officers in the State Service at the national or provincial level as they violate election laws, a senior official said.
Elections Commissioner General R.M.A.L. Rathnayake told the Sunday Times that they had already stopped several such moves following investigations on complaints to the Commission. Many other complaints are under investigations.
Not all such appointments can be categorised as a violation of election laws, the Commissioner General said. “We have to be thorough when making that distinction,” he explained, noting that officials would check whether the appointments had been in the pipeline long before an election was announced.
Matters such as whether the appointments had been gazetted, and if so, when it was gazetted and whether the exams and interviews had already been held, were some of the many key considerations that have to be taken into account, he added.
If these are found to be in order and if officials are satisfied that such recruitment, promotions or transfers are routine ones that have not been initiated to gain political advantage, they are allowed to proceed.
The task is to determine if they are being made with the election in mind and with the purpose of gaining political advantage for a particular party or a candidate, the Commissioner General elaborated. “If we find that this is the case, we will immediately order a halt to such moves,” he said, adding that the Election Commission (EC) had already stopped several such moves after looking into the complaints.
The EC has made an announcement that people could send complaints to the National Election Complaints Coordination Centre if they see misuse of state resources or any incident or move, which in their opinion, construes a violation of election laws.
The center is staffed by the Commission’s officers as well as a police unit under the supervision of a Deputy Inspector General (DIG) of Police. The centre coordinates with police stations throughout the country when investigating election law violations. Members of the public who wish to make a complaint can do so in writing to the National Election Complaints Coordination Centre, Elections Commission, Sarana Mawatha, Rajagiriya. Complaints can also be made over the phone on 0112-864416 or via extension 306 on any of the Commission’s General phone lines. Complaints can also be faxed to 0112864308.
Meanwhile, the Ceylon Electricity Board’s (CEB) Joint Trade Union Alliance charged that some 100 workers had been recruited this week to serve in the CEB’s call centres in violation of election laws.
“These new recruits are from the electorates of Power and Renewable Energy Minister Ranjith Siyambalapitiya and Deputy Minister Ajith P. Perera,” Union Convenor Ranjan Jayalal claimed.
In response to a complaint lodged on behalf of current CEB call center employees, the Commissioner General of Elections had written to the CEB General Manager on December 14 instructing him to send a report on the matter to the EC and to suspend the recruitment until further instructions from the Commission.
The unions, however, in a second complaint to the EC claimed that the CEB, that in defiance of the EC’s instructions, had sent letters to some new recruits, asking them to report to work from December 19.
CEB Spokesman Sulakshana Jayawardena said recruitment to call centers were a drawn-out process that took place over several months. “There is an examination and then an interview to select the successful candidates. These take time. It is only after all this that the successful candidates are recruited into the service,” he said, adding he was unaware of the details regarding this particular case.