The Department of Government Information has issued a clarification statement regarding a newspaper report claiming that the National Election Commission had written to President Anura Kumara Dissanayake over a recent statement, deemed a violation of election laws.
The Department of Government Information said that following inquiries made from the parties mentioned in the news report, it has been found that the news was false.
Issuing a statement regarding the headline story of a local newspaper today, the Department of Government Information further said that no such letter had been sent to the President by the Election Commission.
According to the newspaper, a complaint had been filed with the Election Commission claiming that the President had violated election laws through his recent speech on a political stage ahead of the Local Government Election.
The newspaper reported that election monitoring bodies had raised concerns over the President’s statement that funds would not be allocated to local government bodies that would not see a majority of National People’s Power (NPP) members being elected.
The election monitoring bodies had informed the Election Commission that the statement by the President, who is the Finance Minister of the country, was a violation of election laws, the newspaper report said.
The newspaper further said that Election Commission sources had informed that the commission has sent a letter to the President regarding the election law violation.
However, the Department of Government Information confirmed that inquiries carried out in this regard have found that no such letter had been sent to the President by the Election Commission and that the news was false.
Meanwhile, the National Election Commission has so far not responded to the media report. (Newswire)