August 08, Colombo (LNW): The Anunayake of the Malwatte Chapter, Ven. Dimbulkumbure Wimaladhamma Thera, has expressed concerns over the excessive length of the ballot paper for the Presidential Election. He pointed out that 18 candidates, many of whom are relatively unknown to the public, have extended the ballot unnecessarily by depositing money to participate.
The Thera highlighted that this situation not only increases printing costs but also causes significant inconvenience to voters. “This will result in much inconvenience to the people when voting for their preferences,” he stated, questioning the rationale behind individuals with little chance of securing even 1,000 votes wanting to contest in the Presidential Election.
He further noted that millions of extra rupees would have to be spent on the election due to this issue.
These observations were made when the Chairman of the alliance ‘Let us stop corruption and build the motherland,’ MP Roshan Ranasinghe, and former Chief Justice Sarath N. De Silva visited the Malwatte Maha Vihara on the 7th of August to seek blessings from the Anunayake Thera.
The Thera also commented on the motivations behind these candidacies, attributing them to a desire for personal recognition. He warned that if this trend continues, future ballot papers could become even longer, leading to increased costs and logistical challenges.
Drawing a parallel to the Mahapatharanga Jathakaya, the Thera remarked that the extended ballot paper would demand additional state finances and the time and labor of officials, exacerbating the administrative burden.
