Friday, 13 September 2013 03:17
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In a strange twist to the tale, key Opposition parties have been more delinquent in terms of submitting their asset and liablities declarations for the forthcoming provincial council elections, Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) said yesterday.
As of Wednesday (11), only about 70% of UNP candidates and about 80% of JVP candidates have submitted their declarations although an extended deadline by the Elections Commission lapsed on 7 September, a TISL Spokesman told the Daily FT.
On the contrary, almost all ruling party and Tamil National Alliance candidates have submitted their declarations, TISL said.
Even the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress which is contesting the elections alone has not been proactive with submissions, with many registered candidates still failing to file their papers.
Most ruling party candidates filed their asset forms along with their nomination papers, the TISL Spokesman said.
The Elections Commission says it will withhold candidate IDs from candidates who fail to abide by election regulations to submit their asset declarations.
TISL said that in the case of candidates who fail to do so, even those from the main political parties, the Elections Commissioner will not gazette their names as winning provincial candidates after the poll, until the regulations are complied with.
“That way until they submit their declarations, even winning candidates will not be able to take their places as councillors,” the TISL Spokesman explained. (DB)
