Friday Nov 22, 2024
Friday Nov 22, 2024
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Election Commission Chairman R.M.A.L. Rathnayake
Police Spokesman and Senior DGI Nihal Thalduwa
By Charumini de Silva
Election Commission (EC) Chairman R.M.A.L. Rathnayake yesterday highlighted the importance of maintaining electoral integrity in the upcoming Presidential election, calling on citizens not to treat their sovereignty as a commodity.
Addressing the media at the Government Information Department, he announced a strict ban on mobile phones within polling booths, citing instances during voting where some officials had photographed their ballot papers and shared them on social media – a practice he described as ‘completely illegal’.
He noted that despite efforts to have such social media posts removed, some individuals continued to flout the law by reposting the images.
“We managed to get some posts taken down with great difficulty. But even after that, we saw people openly challenging us by sharing the same post on social media again,” he said, adding that this incident which occurred during Postal voting could potentially happen in regular polling centres as well.
Against this backdrop, he urged the voters to leave their mobile phones at home or hand them over to someone outside the polling booth before entering the halls.
“The right to vote is the citizen’s sovereignty. Therefore, do not treat your sovereignty as a commodity,” he insisted.
When asked about the measures taken to combat AI generated chat-bots and results, he called on the public to rely on mainstream media for official election results, whilst requesting the media also to only publish or announce results verified by the EC.
Rathnayake assured that the first postal vote results would be announced by 4:15 p.m. on Saturday (21) and expressed hope that the final result of the Presidential election would be delivered by 22 September, even if there was a chance to count preference votes.
The Chairman also reminded voters that those who have not received their official polling cards can still cast their vote by using a valid form of identification such as National Identity Card, Passport or Drivers Licence or the temporary document issued by the Department for Registration of Persons.
Alternatively, voters can download and print their official polling cards from the EC’s website using the QR code.
He further explained the voting process, stating that voters can either mark ‘1’ or an ‘x’ for a single candidate or indicate up to three preferences by marking 1, 2, and 3 in that order.
With a closely contested election anticipated, Rathnayake outlined the procedure for counting preference votes if no candidate secures over 50% of the total votes. “In such a case, the two candidates with highest number of votes will remain in the race and ballots cast for the other 36 candidates will be examined for any preference votes for the remaining two. The candidate who receives the highest number of valid votes after this process will be declared the winner,” he elaborated.
Rathnayake praised the peaceful environment leading up to the election and urged everyone to continue this trend till the end of the election process. He also thanked the political parties for their cooperation in ensuring a calm pre-election period.
The EC Chairman also called on the public to remain at home post-election till the official results are announced, noting that large gathering, LED screening of results, floating coloured air devices like drones are prohibited and are punishable offences during this time.
Sri Lanka Police Spokesman and Deputy Inspector General (DIG) NihalThalduwa revealed that 464 election-related complaints were logged as of yesterday, including 148 criminal offences and 316 related to election law violations. He said 108 suspects had been arrested and 14 vehicles seized during investigations.
He also detailed efforts of 1,500 labourers employed temporarily to remove illegal election posters, cut-outs and banners. “A total of 662,676 illegal posters and banners have been removed with over 1,600 illegal cut-outs also confiscated.”
Thalduwa said security measures on Election Day will include the deployment of two police officers at each polling booth and large teams under Senior Superintendents of Police (SSPs) at the 51 counting centres. In addition, roadblocks and riot squads will be on standby.
“A central operations centre at Police Headquarters along with provincial operations centres will coordinate efforts to maintain law and order,” he added.
DIG Thalduwa also said Criminal Investigation Department (CID) led Cyber Crimes Unit is also watching all election violations.
