December 28, Colombo (LNW): The police have announced that investigations will be initiated into the failure of parliamentary candidates to submit their income and expenditure reports, as required by law.
Police Media Spokesperson Buddhika Manatunga confirmed that the probe will be conducted in collaboration with the Assistant Election Commissioners of the respective provinces.
The Election Commission recently revealed that a total of 1,040 candidates have been referred to the police for neglecting to file their mandatory financial reports following the 2024 parliamentary elections.
This includes over 900 individual candidates, several political parties, and a number of members elected through the national list.
The deadline for submitting the required expenditure reports for the 2024 parliamentary elections was December 6, and any failure to comply with this deadline is considered a serious offence.
The Chairman of the National Election Commission, R.M.A.L. Rathnayake, has made it clear that any candidate found guilty of not submitting their financial statements will face disqualification, not only from the current election but also from contesting in future provincial council or local government elections.
In addition to the parliamentary candidates, the police spokesperson also disclosed that 13 candidates from the presidential election are currently under scrutiny for similar offences.
These individuals failed to submit their expenditure reports following the presidential election, and the matter has already been forwarded to the courts for further action.
