Two candidates cry foul over 12 March Movement Presidential debate

Two Presidential candidates lodged a complaint with the Election Commission of Sri Lanka (ECSL) yesterday, voicing their stiff opposition to the upcoming Presidential debate scheduled for 7 September.

Organised by the March 12 Movement, the debate is set to feature only six selected candidates, which the complainants argued is unfair to the other 33 candidates who have been excluded. 

Presidential hopeful Janaka Ratnayake speaking to the media outside the ECSL said he has requested the ECSL to stop the debate from going ahead. 

“Selecting six candidates while excluding 33 others is unjust to those left out. The chosen six will receive unnecessary promotion through the event, which will also gain extensive media coverage,” he said. 

Ratnayake said his group voiced their opposition to the debate and urged the ECSL to prevent the event from taking place. Ratnayake said if action is not taken, he will seek legal redress by filing a petition before the Supreme Court. 

He also demanded to know the criteria used to select these six candidates and questioned how the other candidates were disqualified from participating in the debate.

Another Presidential hopeful Oshala Herath also lodged a complaint with the ECSL yesterday. He questioned whether the organisers were attempting to influence voters to choose one of the six candidates selected for the debate. 

Herath emphasised that other candidates should also have the opportunity to present their views and programs to the country. He pointed out that another discussion is being organised by the Chamber of Commerce, involving only four candidates. “How can they be considered the key candidates while others are not?” he questioned. “All 39 candidates are equal,” Herath added.

Earlier this week, PAFFREL Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi explained that the six candidates were selected because they had already begun their campaigns and had the backing of current Members of Parliament Accordingly, Presidential candidates Ranil Wickremesinghe, Sajith Premadasa, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, Namal Rajapaksa, P. Ariyanethran and Dilith Jayaweera had been invited to participate in the event by the March 12 Movement. 

Hettiarachchi also noted that several other candidates have expressed interest in taking part and the matter is will be discussed by the March 12 Movement this week.