Against the backdrop of the Election Commission (EC) requesting the Treasury to release Rs. 770 million for Local Government (LG) poll expenditure for the month of February, President Ranil Wickremesinghe, as the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilisation, and National Policy, has instructed the Treasury and Finance Ministry Secretary Mahinda Siriwardana to only provide provisions for essential Government expenses in order to maintain public services until the State revenue situation improves, the President’s Media Division (PMD) stated yesterday (8), despite the said list of essentials not including expenditure for polls.

A media release in this regard noted that the list of expenditures to be funded includes salaries, debt servicing, pensions, medical supplies for hospitals, subsidies for low-income groups, scholarships, farmers’ pensions, school nutrition programmes, payments for war heroes and disabled soldiers, utility-related payments, and supplies for hospitals and prisons, among others.

“This move is expected to have a significant impact on the economy as it will prioritise the most important needs of the people and prevent funds from being misused. The Treasury has stressed the importance of sticking to the list of essential expenditures, as releasing funds for any other purpose could negatively impact the people and slow down the country's economic recovery. The decision to only provide funds for essential expenditure is being widely welcomed as a step in the right direction and is expected to play a crucial role in restoring stability and growth to the nation’s economy,” the press release further claimed.

However, the EC, on 5 February, said that they have requested the Ministry for Rs. 770 million for LG election expenditure for February, while stating that the estimation of Rs. 2 billion made by the Police for election expenditure cannot be accepted. Speaking to The Daily Morning, EC Chairman Attorney Nimal G. Punchihewa said that he had sent a letter on 3 February requesting the said amount from the Ministry and is awaiting a response. “The initial payments, as requested, were provided in tranches. We are yet to receive the full amount. We requested a sum of Rs. 37 million,” he added.