Post marked ballot papers and face up to three years in jail: EC

Friday, 1 November 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

EC warning comes hours after postal voting began
Says this is gross disregard of directive issued by EP to public officials on how to conduct themselves during election time
Says staff officers in charge of postal voting polling booths too have failed in their duties

By Chandani Kirinde

The Election Commission yesterday cautioned public officials casting postal votes to refrain from taking photographs of ballot papers and posting them on social media, saying such acts would be dealt with in the strictest manner legally possible.

The warning came hours after postal voting began in 987 centres across the country, on the first of four days allocated for public officials to cast their votes. Over 650,000 public officials are eligible to cast their votes via postal voting. Commission Chairman Mahindra Deshapriya said some of the public officials who cast their votes had posted photographs on social media websites, in violation of the regulations laid down. “We are going to track down these people, and take the strictest possible action against them. We have issued guidelines for public officials to follow during election time. They can get up to three years in jail if found guilty of this offence,” Deshapriya said.

Deshapriya said public officials disregarding the EC guidelines is very unfortunate. “We have to take action against the staff officers, who are in change of these polling centres as well. They have failed in their duties,” he said.

The Commission Chairman said General Secretaries of all political parties and independent candidates have been briefed on the prohibition on posting such photographs on social media, and it is a disgrace that they have not taken steps to dissuade their supporters from resorting to such actions. “If this trend continues, we will have people showing their marked ballot paper inside the booth as well. If we can’t ensure a secret ballot, we might as well send the ballot paper to the voters’ houses and ask them to mark it and send it back,” he said.

Deshapriya was as critical of both private and State media, saying that the partisan manner of reporting is damaging to the electoral process. “Some media organisations want people to vote for the candidates they support. The behaviour of politicians and their supporters is like a group of crows preying on a carcass that is rolling out to sea. One day the carcass will be in the middle of the sea, and everyone will drown,” he said. He also asked the public to be more proactive on these issues, as it concerns their rights. “Don’t wait for the Election Commission to bell the cat. The public too have a responsibly to safeguard their rights,” he said.

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