August 23, Colombo (LNW): The People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) has raised concerns regarding the government’s decision to provide subsidies to the general public following the announcement of the presidential election. Executive Director of PAFFREL, Rohana Hettiarachchi, criticized these actions as “unacceptable” during the pre-election period and confirmed that the Election Commission has been formally notified of the issue.
In response to these concerns, Minister of State for Finance, Ranjith Siambalapitiya, clarified that the subsidies were not introduced to influence voters but to address the economic challenges faced by the public. Despite this explanation, Hettiarachchi argued that such measures, if necessary, should be postponed until after the election to ensure the fairness of the electoral process.
