Sri Lanka’s ruling party mayoral candidate for the capital Colombo on Monday for the first time promised the right to information as part of his election manifesto.
United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) mayoral candidate Milinda Moragoda said the people of Colombo would be the first in the country to experience a right to information act if he is elected.
Launching his election manifesto he promised the people that they would have the capacity to access information within the public domain without restriction.
Sri Lanka’s main opposition the United National Party together with civil society members have been lobbying for a Right to Information Act since last year. However so far the government has failed to give a positive response.
Nonetheless UPFA Secretary General Susil Premjayantha at the manifesto launch said measures will be taken to introduce a ‘ Right to Information’ mechanism as a national policy.
He said if it becomes a success in Colombo it may be taken to the rest of the country. “We can start it as a model. If it works in Colombo, We can introduce at national level,” said Premjayantha.
The election will be held on October 8 along with local government polls of 23 other provinces in the country.
Neighboring India and Pakistan have Right to Information Acts and civil society members point out that such legislation is essential to stamp out corruption.
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