DailyMirror
The main opposition United National Party (UNP) yesterday charged that some public servants attached to the Sri Lanka Ports Authority and the Mahaweli Development Authority (MDA) had been permitted to leave office to canvass for United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) candidates.
UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake told a news conference that according to reports he had received these employees sign the attendance sheets in the morning and then leave office on electioneering for ruling UPFA candidates contesting the April 8 general elections.
He lamented that the law and order situation in the country had deteriorated even further and the police had been compelled to protect drug dealers for political reasons.
“Recently a deputy minister’s co-ordinating secretary was caught in one of Sri Lanka’s biggest narcotics detections. However, the police are forced to provide security to such people with criminal records,” he said.
Polonnaruwa district UNP candidate Earl Gunasekara said that he had noticed some MDA employees distributing leaflets with the picture and preferential number of a powerful UPFA candidate among voters in his constituency.
Meanwhile, the leading local monitoring group People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) also confirmed it had received several such complaints from different parts of Sri Lanka.
However PAFFREL Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi said he was unable to substantiate such allegations with evidence.
“I have also received complaints from some schools but I have not been able to check them out personally,” he said.