DailyMirror
The deadline for the removal of unlawful cut-outs and posters which initially was today as decided by the Police and the Elections Department has now been postponed to April 5. However, the campaigning for the April 8 election will end on April 6.
According to DIG- Elections, Gamini Navaratne all posters and cuto-uts will be removed before midnight on April 5.
“We have made progress in removing the posters and cut-outs but people who put up banners and paste posters continue to do so too,” DIG Navaratne added.
In response to the postponing of the deadline, Executive Director of The People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) Rohana Hettiarachchi observed that there would not be enough time to remove the many posters and banners islandwide.
“During a one-day survey we conducted on March 15, we came across around 2,600 places with cut-outs and banners,” Mr. Hettiarachchi adding the police will not be able to remove all these before midnight on April 5.
Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) Director Keerthi Tennekoon said that the postponing of the deadline is a clear example of how the Elections Commissioner is making space for the non-implementation of the election law in the country.
“The Elections Secretariat has become a joke,” he said.
“Normally, the deadline for the removal of these cut-outs and posters is the day of the nominations. Making the 5th of this month the deadline does not make sense as the campaigning will anyway have to end on the 6th,” he said.