2025 LG Polls: 30 incidents of misuse of state power and resources reported

The Executive Director of People’s Action for Free & Fair Elections (PAFFREL), Rohana Hettiarachchi, says that 30 incidents of misuse of state power and state resources have been reported in relation to the 2025 Local Government (LG) Election.

He stated that 14 of these incidents have been confirmed, and that a total of 322 violations of election laws have been reported to the PAFFREL organization.

Hettiarachchi further added that 18 violent incidents have been reported, of which 17 have been confirmed.

Although 38 incidents involving offering donations and bribes to voters have been reported, he said, it is not considered a serious issue in the context of an election where 70,000 candidates are contesting. 

Many candidates have been arrested while one candidate has been murdered. However, it has not yet been determined whether the murder is directly related to the election, he added.

Further expressing his views, the PAFFREL Executive Director noted that although issuing certain statements using state power may not have a direct impact, it can still influence voters indirectly.