Samagi Jana Sandanaya MPs alleges vote-counting officials violated election law

Samagi Jana Sandanaya MPs Ranjith Madduma Bandara and Patali Champika Ranawaka have lodged a complaint with the Election Commission, alleging that some vote-counting officials had violated the election law.

They claimed that some vote-counting officials began calculating second preference votes, prematurely, before receiving official authorisation. 

They claimed that a prominent group was behind this violation, raising concerns about the integrity of the counting process.

The move comes after the 2024 Presidential Election Commission announced that no candidate was able to secure an absolute majority, marking the first time in history that a second preference count was required to determine the winner.

Leader of National People’s Power (NPP) Anura Kumara Dissanayake emerged as the front-runner with 42% of the vote, while leader of Samagi Jana Sandanaya followed 32% of the vote. 

Speaking to the media, Ranawaka asserted the importance of upholding injustice to his candidate. 

He acknowledged that there was substantial opposition to Dissanayake, claiming that 840,000 voters were against the NPP leader and reiterated his commitment to supporting democratic outcome.

Ranawaka also said that this complaint was made to the Election Commission due to the suspicion that some injustice would be done to his candidate due to the action against the electoral democracy by the counting officials.