NMSJ urges Parliament to pass bill on election expenses

Parliament should pass the proposed Bill on election campaign finance soon and take into account the positive criticisms thereof, Karu Jayasuriya, Chairman of the National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ) says.

Jayasuriya has in a media statement said: “As the National Movement for Social Justice (NMSJ), we express our deep appreciation for the fact that a bill has been presented to Parliament with the aim of creating an environment for a free and fair election culture by regulating election expenses. In order to achieve our desired goal of passing the Bill, we emphasise the need to pass it, taking into account the positive criticisms that have been, raised regarding the Bill.

“In order to civilise the political culture of Sri Lanka, it is essential to regulate the expenses incurred by every political party, as well as candidates. It is also important to regulate the way of collecting funds, as well as ensure that the relevant funds are procured through legal means. It is extremely important to enforce a law for that. Accordingly, the regulation of the election expenses of the candidates, running for the local government (LG) elections, provincial councils (PC) elections, general elections and presidential elections, which is expected to be adopted by the enforcement of this Bill, will definitely be a positive approach. In addition to that, we are of the view that the expenses of each political party and group in referendums should also be included in this legal framework.

“Moreover, we expect that certain loopholes, found in this Bill, which may enable political parties and candidates to exert undue influence on voters, through campaigning and other expenses during the elections, will be rectified. If any money is spent by another party, on behalf of a certain candidate, or political party, it should be made mandatory to obtain prior permission from the candidate or the party concerned, and the law should make such cases clear and accountable. Also, as seen in the original Bill, it was suggested that every candidate should spend their expenses through a specific bank account, but attention should also be paid to the fact that it is not included in this Bill.

“It is also our conclusion that it is important to include provisions in this Bill in such a way that funds cannot be obtained from organisations established in Sri Lanka that receive foreign aid, as well as from organisations established as non-profit organisations under the Companies Act No. 07 of 2007 or by Acts of Parliament.

We, as the NMSJ, express our strong support and gratitude to all those who are working for the need to enforce a law on election expenses. We request from the Government as well as all the Members of Parliament to make this a great opportunity to prepare a successful legal basis for regulating the election expenses in Sri Lanka, taking into consideration the proposals prepared and submitted to the relevant authorities by the Elections Commission of Sri Lanka, as well as by various other election monitoring organisations.”