The election monitors today charged that Colombo Mayor A. J. M. Muzammil has failed to take adequate measures to remove over 1800 illegal election cut-outs displayed in Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) limits.

Executive Director of CaFFE Rajith Keerthi Tennakoon said that based on a complaint, the Commissioner of has written to Mayor asking him to provide information about the display of over 1800 illegal election cut-outs in Colombo city limits, and to inform him ”under what leasing conditions that these cut-outs have been allowed to be displayed and if the CMC has charged any fee for the display of these cut-outs.”

Tennakoon added that the EC has also asked Muzammil to ”remove all the election cut-outs immediately if these are displayed without any fee and to take action against officials who permitted this to take place.”  
However, until today (02) the Mayor has not responded to the EC, it was repoeted.

“CaFFE is deeply dismayed about this lack of concern displayed by the mayor, who is also a working committee member of the United National Party (UNP). The UNP who speaks greatly of transparency and good governance should act in a more proactive way to curb election law violation and rule of law. We believe that he should have responded immediately to the Commissioner of Elections, as the chief election official in the country and we urge all government servants, elected representatives and political parties to respect his directives.”