TISL calls for prosecutions in cases of misuse of public property

Transparency International Sri Lanka?s?(TISL)?election monitoring arm the Program for the Protection of Public Resources?(PPPR),?renewed its call today on law enforcement authorities to prosecute offences of?misuse?of public property during the?2020 Parliamentary election.

TISL?s Executive Director Asoka?Obeyesekere?said,??We?welcome the recent acknowledgement?by?the Chairman of the Election Commission of Article 104GG of the?Constitution,?which allows for the prosecution of public officials who fail to comply with directives issued by the?Commission. We also call upon the Commission, the Attorney General?s Department and the Sri Lanka Police to acknowledge the growing discontent amongst the public over the perceived absence of prosecutions and convictions for?election law violations?.

TISL, which is the only election monitor with a sole focus on the misuse of public property,?has?deployed a network of 160 observers at the electorate level and 25 observers at the district level to monitor and report on election law violations.

TISL?has also opened two hotlines for the public to report incidents of misuse of public property during election campaigning.?The public can report abuses by calling?076-322-344-2 or 076-322-366-2.?TISL?also encourages members of the public to share photographic evidence of?alleged?misuse of public property via WhatsApp to 076-322-344-2 or via e-mail to?pppr@tisrilanka.org.

Obeyesekere?added,??the misuse of public property?is one of the most commonplace violations of election law. When such?offences?are?left unprosecuted,?it?erodes?public trust in the integrity of our elections.?Whilst we commend the prompt preventative actions that have been taken by authorities,?which often escape the attention of the public eye, we re-iterate the need for accountability for offences committed?.