Poll monitors regret defeated candidates entering parliament

23 August 2015 05:17 pm

A leading election monitoring group today expressed its regret and disappointment over the nomination of defeated candidates to parliament through the national list and called for a new criterion for this purpose.

Eight defeated candidates have been nominated to parliament through the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) national list, one each through the national lists of the United National Party (UNP), the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Tamil National Alliance (TNA).

People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi said guidelines were necessary to prevent those not eligible from entering Parliament.

He said some of the defeated candidates nominated to parliament through the national list there were several who were not eligible for such nomination.

Mr. Hettiarachchi admitted to the fact that there were some who where worthy of being nominated to parliament.

Meanwhile, Campaign for Free and Fair Election (CaFFE), another leading election monitoring group, also criticized the appointment of defeated candidates though the national list.

CaFFE Executive Director Keerthi Tennekoon said it a defeated candidate who was appointed through the national list was responsible for the post-election violence in Katankudi.

He said it was disappointing to see such defeated candidates being appointed through the national list. “Such of these appointments are blow to the efforts made by President Maithripala Sirisena to change the political culture of this country,” Mr. Hettiarachchi added. (YP)