Parliament fast becoming breeding ground for misinformation and hate speech – Manjula Gajanayaka (CMEV)

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by PRIYAN DE SILVA

The National Coordinator of the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) Manjula Gajanayaka, referring to the recent behaviour of back benchers in Parliament, said the national legislature was fast becoming the breeding ground for hate speech and misinformation.

The election monitor said one of the major challenges faced by the Election Commission in conducting free and fair elections was hate speech and misinformation. The lack of strong laws to regulate hate speech and misinformation during the election campaign periods resulted in hundreds of candidates being harassed and humiliated, Gajanayake added.

Even in Parliament, some backbenchers were responsible for spreading misinformation on national issues as well as slinging mud at their opponents, Gajanayake said.

He pointed out that in most instances it was women who were targeted the most and if the Speaker was unable to stop women parliamentarians being harassed and ridiculed continuously it would become a serious social issue in the future.

“If Parliament cannot stop hate speech in the House, how can one expect the Election Commission of Sri Lanka to put an end to it?” Gajanayake asked.

The election monitor said political party leaders should condemn the despicable conduct of their MPs and take disciplinary action against them.