Legal action will be taken against ten candidates

2 November 2011 06:47 am

The Elections Department vowed today to take legal action against the ten candidates who did not declare their assets before October 31, 2011, officials said today.

Elections Commissioner Mahinda Desapriya requested all the elected candidates to declare their assets. Altogether 420 candidates were elected at the election conducted on October 8, 2011, and of them 410 had declared their assets in writing to the commissioner. 

Representing the ruling UPFA, 245 candidates were elected, and of them, 241 declared their assets. According to the Commissioner, 130 out of 131 elected UNP members have declared their assets. All six JVP members elected have met the deadline in this case. 

Also, the Commissioner has set November 25, 2011 as the deadline for all the unelected members to declare their assets. 

Meanwhile, the People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), at a panel discussion, stressed the need to introduce laws even to monitor the campaign financing of candidates in the run up to any election.  Executive Director of the PAFFREL Rohana Hettiarachchi said that there were candidates who spent more than one million rupees a day in the run up to the last local government election. (By Kelum Bandara)