30 July 2020 11:13 pm
The SLFP raised concerns today on the proposed counting of votes of the August 5 general election on the following day, citing the possibility of tampering of votes.
Senior advisor of the party Prof. Rohana Lakshman Piyadasa said, not only the SLFP but almost all other political parties in the fray had decided to speak to the Elections Commission (EC) on this issue.
Addressing the media at the party head office today, Prof. Piyadasa said Sri Lanka had a bad reputation on election malpractices and the election history was replete with tales of intimidation of voters, stuffing of ballot boxes and impersonations etc.
“What we are afraid of is that if any one wants to, he can sabotage and change the pattern of the results. We have experience of blackouts, hijacking of ballot boxes and bundles of votes going missing during the counting at night. We need an extremely foolproof method of counting votes and the calculation of the results,” Prof. Piyadasa stressed.
The EC has decided to begin counting of votes at 8.00 a.m. on the 6th as voting will be concluded at 5.00 p.m. on the 5th and because of many other practical and logistical issues. (Sandun A Jayasekera)