MPs responsible for misuse of state resources – TISL

By Skandha Gunasekara

Charging that misuse of state resources for elections was predominantly by Parliamentarians, Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) yesterday called on all political parties to respect the two-day ‘silent period’ beginning today.

TISL Senior Manager (Programs) Sashee De Mel, addressing a media briefing at the TISL office yesterday, said that of the total election related complaints received by the Program for the Protection of Public Resources (PPPR), the election monitoring arm of TISL, 55% were regarding the misuse of state resources.

“A majority of complaints we received were regarding the abuse of public resources such as fixed and movable assets, human resources and the state media. What we found was that it was parliamentarians, particularly from the government, who were involved in these violations,” she said.

Accordingly, TISL had uncovered in the Kurunegala district 20 sewing machines, belonging to the Ministry of Industry and Commerce, stored in a residence of a supporter of a minor political party.

“In another instance, PPPR’s intervention also resulted in authorities taking steps to halt interviews for politically motivated manpower recruitment for the Hambantota Port,” she said, going on to commend the Elections Commission and the Police Department for taking prompt action in response to election law violations.

Meanwhile, TISL Executive Director Asoka Obeyesekere pointed out that the failure to constitute many of the local authorities on time had resulted in the reduction of local resources being misused. “Due to many local authorities not being constituted for over two years, the political grip on local government authority resources appears to have weakened. However, abuse of central government resources, such as the use of ministerial vehicles at campaigns, continues to prevail,” Obeyesekere said.

TISL then called on political parties to respect the ‘silent period’ of 48 hours before the poll date, as stipulated by the elections commission.

“We urge all political parties to allow the citizens to make their own decision on who to vote. The silent period is crucial for a free and fair election,” De Mel said.