"Big suspicion about presidential election" -- member of election commission, professor Hoole

"Big suspicion about presidential election" -- member of election commission, professor Hoole

Member of election commission professor Rathnajeewa H. Hoole has informed that a feeling of uncertainty among most people has emerged, he has told the BBC channel. 

Professor Hoole who is considered as an independent person who filed a petition with supreme court in the instance parliament was dissolved in October, 2018 saying that it was anti-constitutional has expressed his ideas in this manner in respect of the presidential election. 

The suspicions referred to are some incidents that have taken place in recent times, as his examples. One such revelation is suspicious activities of the selection officers. He complains that in relation to an incident that occurred in Addalachenai area the assistant in charge of the selection committee of election commission and assistant election commissioner of Amparai has misused their authority. He also has informed that some letters using forged letterheads by assistant in charge of the selection committee have been found. Non-governmental organisation who have been subjected to victimisation have complained to election commission in this connection. However he says that the decision of election commission has not been conveyed to him, professor Rathnajeewa H. Hoole says. Apart from this, some acts of certain district secretaries have been subjected to criticism. 

"Names of some grama sevakas have resorted to scrapping off specific voters from the voting list", Hoole remarks. It is stated in the letter that he lodged a complaint to the cabinet in this connection. The professor further remarks that during tours he conducted in the Eastern province 'it was observed that the manner in which the vote should be cast was explained in a misleading manner by powers partial to some political parties'. The head of a faculty in Jaffna has told voters to mark one, two or three crosses in front of the candidate he prefers; which results in the voter's selection being disqualified. C.V. Wigneshwaran has released a press announcement saying that, "make your vote null and void. Then because of that vote, nobody would get 50%. But when deciding upon 50%, spoilt votes are not taken into account", professor Hoole says. What he says is, "if that a representative of a president's counsel would be victorious and if Muslims do not cast their vote to him, they would face trouble. Later he says that he did not say such a thing. But it is available with a copy of that video at the complaint counter. A number of days have elapsed after receiving the complaint ... but no action has been taken", professor Rathnajeewa H. Hoole has complained. 

Under such conditions, "a shadowy situation is felt" about presidential votes was the opinion of member of election commission, professor Rathnajeewan H. Hoole. A talk about the Live facebook interview conducted by the BBC with chairman of election commission, Mahinda Deshapriya to the effect that Gotabhaya Rajapaksa's citizenship matter was not inquired into when accepting his nominations too is circulating. What he said on that occasion was that only affidavits of candidates were taken and that n other document was taken. 

On October 26th last year when Ranil Wickremasingha was remove from his position as premier by president Maithripala Sirisena and Mahinda Rajapaksa was appointed, when election commission was getting ready to launch a general election, professor Rathnajeewa Hoole who was a member of the commission took steps to forward a petition to supreme court against it and that was on the grounds that dissolving parliament and holding a general election was against the law and thus against attorney general and commissioner of election commission and four other respondents. It was finally decided that the extra-special gazette was against the law and it was contradictory to the constitution.