• Legal action against Parliamentary candidates and Nat’l List nominees

The Election Commission (EC) stated that candidates who failed to submit expenditure reports for the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections on time will still be allowed to contest upcoming elections until the relevant court proceedings conclude.

It was recently reported that politicians who failed to submit their campaign expenditure-related reports to the EC following the Presidential and Parliamentary Elections would have to face barriers in competing for upcoming elections such as the Local Government (LG) and the Provincial Council (PC) Elections.

When queried by The Daily Morning regarding the issue, EC Chairperson R.M.A.L. Rathnayake said that there would not be an issue for such politicians until the relevant court proceedings against them conclude. 

“There is no barrier for them as of now. The Police will file cases against them, and the relevant courts will impose punishments. Only after that will there be any barrier for them to run for other elections,” he said.

Under the Regulation of Election Expenditure Act, No. 3 of 2023, all Presidential, and Parliamentary Elections candidates and National List nominees were supposed to submit reports detailing their campaign expenditure, including the sources of funds, to the EC and the relevant District Secretariats, by the respective deadlines. As per the latest reports, three Presidential candidates are to face legal challenges for not having made the relevant submissions whereas legal action would be initiated against 1,042 Parliamentary candidates and National List nominees for their failure to submit campaign expenditure-related reports.