Politicians with cases against them will be banned from contesting elections

By Ajith Siriwardana  

National Peoples’ Power (NPP) presidential candidate Anura Kumara Dissanayake said laws would be introduced to ban politicians who had looted public funds, committed crimes and had cases against them, from contesting elections under their government.  

Addressing a rally in Wellawaya, he said a police report should be furnished by anyone entering government service but those with cases against them are able to become politicians in Sri Lanka.  

“There are cases in the Magistrate’s Court against one candidate of the main camp. Even a Grama Niladhari is not recruited if there are cases against them in the Magistrate’s Court. We will introduce laws to prevent such people contesting elections in future,” he said.  

He said one main task ahead of them in developing this country was to clean the corrupt political field which included introducing laws to prevent MPs selling off for money.  
“We cannot develop this country without cleaning this political sphere. MPs who attend parliament sessions only 20 times in their five-year term are entitled to a pension. We will abolish it. There are MPs who are over 84-years old. Today anyone can do politics until they die. We will not allow anyone to do so in future. We will introduce laws to prevent politicians above seventy contesting elections,” he said.  

Mr. Dissanayake said the Ranil Wickremesinghe government which failed to keep up promises made in 2015 should be sent home and added that the alternative was not to bring in the Rajapaksa government which was defeated in 2015 for resorting to fraud and corruption, violate democracy and burden people with excessive taxes.  

He said the only option to develop the country was to bring in NPP to power.