Details of an attempt made to insert fake ballot papers in which the vote has been cast for the UPFA candidate during the recently concluded Presidential elections have been disclosed.
Harsha
The expose was made by UNP MP and Minister of the new interim government Dr. Harsha de Silva on Facebook, who has uploaded an image of a receipt that had been signed by an Elections official in acceptance of the money paid in order to accept the ballot papers and rig the votes.
In the image shared by Dr. Harsha, an Elections Official has signed accepting the ballot papers that were intended to be used for rigging, for the 1053 polling stations located in Colombo.
Dr. Harsha said he has received a file that contains details of the scheme where Rs. 10,000 had been paid to every polling center Chief for accepting the bundle of ballot papers. He said the bundles had been distributed during the final 48 hours before the election and added that it had been fully funded by the Presidential elections office.
He said a complaint regarding the issue will be filed before the Bribery and Corruption Commission.
manel fonseka / January 17, 2015
Are we really to believe that a government official was willing to risk his job and freedom for Rs.10,000/-? Seems a bit far-fetched to me.
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punchinilame / January 17, 2015
It looks like 1053 bundles @ Rs. 10,000/= which is Aprox. 10.5 Million
rupees!. It will be interesting to check out the votes relevant to the
polling station and loot shared among?.
Over to the EC who claimed that nothing of this sort will take place.
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srilal / January 18, 2015
i urged you guys to watch today’s (17/01/15) Sirasa “Satana” program , i was stunned by JVP Wasantha S. revelations , according to him MR’s close relative Thiru Nadesan had driven RW to the Temple trees on the that fateful morning (9/1/15) , question is why Thiru Nadesan brokering RW’s negotiations with MR ? what were the deals or preconditions that MR had with RW ? is that the reason so many wanted guys behaving as if nothing has happened ? is that the reason many fugitives are allowed to flee the country ? why can’t they suspend the current Bribery commissioner and appoint an interim commissioner to expedite the process ? it looks like MY3 had left RW to run the show and RW is calling the shots , the whole thing is getting very messy and suspicious , has any one wondered why the hell police taking so many days to issue a B-report , then court is taking it’s own time to issue the relevant order , by that time all the fugitives would be living in seashells or another Banana republic with all the loot!
MY3 needs to take control of the state affairs during the interim period , Ranil is known to be a Rajapakse sympathizer and he is doing it deliberately , all the previous useless old guards (John A, Joseph M , Jayawicrama P et al) are back in business along with the usual suspects ( Rishard B , F. Mustafa , R.Hakim et al ) , people who put their life on line ( S.Senasingha , Ranjan R , W.Senanayake , Hirunika et al) are being given step motherly treatments while undesirable characters who were not sure which way to jump are given prominent places in the new government . people need answers and Ranil needs to come up with some solid answers , Thank God JVP is fully aware of the whole drama.
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srilal / January 18, 2015
just to add ,
Ravi K is another character with a dubious history , especially with alleged financial frauds , yet he is given the finance ministry , funny enough he will have to attend the court hearing on the same day as mini budget presentation !
has any body wondered why that double tongued F.Mustafa took so long to jump the ship ? what was he doing in Singapore while all the MY3 supporters get beaten left ,right and center ! same thing goes with Hakim , why the hell did he take that much time in MR’s camp ? again same thing with Rishard B , all these guys were enjoying the state protection and finally jumped the ship when the time was right , alas , all of them again sitting on the front row wearing a different colour Tie , these crooks are always Ministers , no matter who runs the show , only noticeable absentee is Thondaman , Ranil might consider offering him a front seat in due course !
Ranil is back with his old guards , Rajapakse will pull the strings when the time right . why the hell did we bust our a… for ?
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Palayang Yako / January 19, 2015
Srilal:
The sentiments you express are exactly those that most of us share.
Ranil needs to stop being complicit in the efforts to shield a government that has destroyed the economic, political and social fabric of this country.
I never thought I’d say this, but the only hope in cleaning out this mess from within the current ruling coalition seems to be the JHU – Champika and Rathan Thero!
As for the JVP, Anura Kumara Dissanayake has played a pivotal role in exposing the criminality of the previous regime, at risk to himself and his party members, while the John Amaratunges were too busy collecting free air tickets from Mahinda Maamaand Ranil Wicks was on his way to Temple Trees with Thiru Nadesan!
I hope that we are not in for another bout of Rajapaksa criminality cloaked in a Wijeye Newspapers/Ranil Wickremesinghe disguise!
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manel fonseka / January 18, 2015
Thanks, Punchinilame. It looks like I rushed to judgement!
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Amarasiri / January 17, 2015
Harsha
“He said a complaint regarding the issue will be filed before the Bribery and Corruption Commission.”
Good, expose.
If these is some truth, it will come out.
The MaRa had different schemes. This was not the only scheme.
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BBS Rep / January 18, 2015
Amarasiri,
Balapatabandi is still the bribary commissioner. This man’s main job was to turn a blind eye to the goings on of massive fraud committed by the Rajapaksa mafia.
Nothing will come of any complaint made to this useless commissioner.
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Amarasiri / January 18, 2015
“Balapatabandi is still the bribary commissioner Nothing will come of any complaint made to this useless commissioner.”
Yes.
Change the Commissioner First.
VAC Vaas!
http://www.lankatruth.com/home/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=8216:vac-vaas&catid=42:smartphones&Itemid=74
The Voice Against Corruption filed a complaint before the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption today (16th) against the former monitoring MP for the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sajin Vaas Gunawardene.
Several members of VAC including North-Central Provincial Council Member Wasantha Samarasinghe and Attorney at Law Janaka Adhikari were present.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TzQgaDiSQUE
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Funny News / January 17, 2015
This funny and stupid, credibility going down the toilet.
Next they will find documents outlining in detail that MR killed JFK.
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justice / January 17, 2015
Will the Elections Commissioner respond?
The documentary evidence is overwhelming.
The MR coterie appear to have been exposed trying a very serious violation of subversion of the norms of the election process.
This could very well have been done with the knowledge of Mahinda Rajapakse himself – and blows the lid off his pretended image.
The attempt to declare martial law and declare results invalid adds to his immoral conduct.
This matter should be expeditiously investigated to a finality.
If proved, MR’s citizenship should be suspended well before the forthcoming parliamentary election.
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shankar / January 18, 2015
“If proved, MR’s citizenship should be suspended well before the forthcoming parliamentary election.”
I don’t agree with that.Let him contest and let the people decide his fate.That is pure democracy,not the democracy practiced in most countries which try to bar people from contesting.The people have a vote and they will decide who they want to represent them,not others.
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Paul / January 17, 2015
Dear God UPFA rigged votes? I can’t believe it! The UNP have never done such a thing …ever….in any election.
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Dev / January 17, 2015
Oh not never. And also even the UPFA only did it under Mahinda.
When Chandrika was in power they were so democratic…..just ask the voters in Wayamba 1999 :-)
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Arunasalam / January 18, 2015
The UNP had never done such a thing – memory is so short.What happened at the District Concil Elections in Jaffna in 1977 and the torching of the Jaffna library.Don’t throw stones.
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Truth / January 17, 2015
Mahinda Rajaakse had plenty of supporters to help him win by hook or crook. There was a website which said a business tycoon had cashed over one billion Rupees direct from the Central Bank and two army trucks full of Rs 5,000 was transported to the Temple Trees. This must be also investigated as it supports this report.
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Mahendra / January 18, 2015
This action by a responsible Minister is very worrying and casts a degree of doubt in my mind on how they will act in accordance with the Law as they have promised many times. Surely, the correct thing to have done would be to present this evidence to the Authorities for them to take action. To publish on Facebook is the wrong thing to do. The same applies to the attempted Coup. The Presidential spokesman announced it as a matter that actually happened but neither the President or the PM or the Law Officers involved have commented on it. With the “New Dawn”, I expected things to be different and these actions make me feel a bit uneasy and I do hope that the “same old story”of people behaving differently when they are in power does not happen. I also notice that Mervyn Silva, the man who now chooses fair play and justice and who was silent about all the alleged wrong doings of the Rajapaksa family when he was in favour, has become suddenly fearless and says that if he is murdered, he doesn’t care and he will go down proudly “like a Lion”. Let us hope that all those who make allegations, seek redress through legitimate Legal means and give all of us confidence that we now do have a new Regime which is honest and patriotic with zero tolerance of corruption and illegal practices of all kind. Otherwise, I won’t be the only person who will be so disappointed and disillusioned.
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moderater / January 18, 2015
Nihal Hewage is ?/was the Director of the JRJ centre an MR appointee? His phone no. Indicated on the documented is correct! He was part of the Chinthanaya authors. He may be in the staff of one of the Universities!
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JRJ / January 23, 2015
Yes, He is the Secretary General of J.R. Jayewardene Centre. Who have make near bankrupt the centre and destroyed very valuable historical archives by his mis management. He removed a Japanese Zen garden, which was donated by a Japanese Nun named Thanaka and sold all stones as Kalugal…
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K.A Sumanasekera / January 18, 2015
Has this Economics Whizz Kid become the Minister of Mud Slinging….
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Native Vedda / January 18, 2015
K.A Sumanasekera
“Has this Economics Whizz Kid become the Minister of Mud Slinging…”
I suppose he is cleaning the house which had accumulated tonnes of mud over several years. Remember it was the clan which occupied these
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Wera / January 18, 2015
This type of activity was standard practice in the MR era. Looking at the election results one can see the extent to which this had been going on.
One of the priorities should be the cleaning up of the judiciary. While the current lot of crooked officials at the bribery commission need to be fired immediately and replaced they also need additional staff dedicated to expedite all the cases coming before it. As a start please get rid of the bogus CJ. The ECs impartiality was only at the last minute when it dawned on him and all the other lackeys that this election had overwhelmed their planned rigging.
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Rabok / January 18, 2015
Aiyo Sirisena — from the beginning I thought your outlook does not represent the qualities of a strong leader I think now you are beginning to prove it – if you really need to do what you are suppose to do you have to be a cunning fox , more proactive , bit ruthless – MR slept with dogs and got up infested with ticks and died with tick fever – MR was given a golden opportunity to resurrect the country from its depth – unfortunately idiots around him ruined him – of course with the blessing of MR himself – Okay now you are at the helm – please learn from these mistakes of these guys and use your Executive power to do what is needed to be done – be independent of Ranil or CBK and show everybody you are the boss – now we see dog fights among old and new dogs forMinistrial posts – kick them or kill them – one more advise – do not give up EP until you do what you have to do by hook or by crook
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Rabok / January 18, 2015
Hasn’t this Bu…r anything better to do than doing FB campaign – Whatever evidence you found handover to the relevant authorities and follow it up quietly – You are a Deputy of a very important Ministry – act like a matured guy and work like a matured – guy — Aiyo Sirisena – god bless the bunch Ranil has selected for you
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Mevan / January 18, 2015
From what I can see these are just official internal documents from the EC’s office where this officer has taken over the ballot papers for Colombo district for distribution to the polling stations -from the printer or from a superior officer. He has taken over 23 boxes of ballot papers ( each containing ?? ballots)and distributed them to officers responsible for each electorate in the district ( page 2/3). How can one expect a person who is acting fraudulently with forged ballot papers to sign with his NID and mobile phone number?
I think Dr Harsha is wrong here but it is a reflection on the level of suspicion that we all had with regard to MR and his tactics. One thing that this election and the one before in Uva showed, however, is that the system we have is pretty foolproof. It is a very simple system where paper ballots are marked and counted later by hand – both processes being done openly in the presence of agents from the all parties. The integrity of the results and their distribution around the Island makes very good sense. The results also tally very closely with an excellent forecast made by a group in India which was published nearly 3 weeks before the poll.
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Nagananda / January 18, 2015
Harsha,
Not just rigging of votes, you must immediately set up a mechanism to have all electoral voter registers examined before facing the general election.
I can confirm that there are a lot of people registered more than once for voting at different addresses. This is very serious business and as it violates peoples basic democratic right of franchise.
Get this sorted out immediately with maximum mandatory jail term imposed by law on those found involved in this abuse.
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thondamannar / January 18, 2015
Harsha de Silva do not behaver like a square peg in a round hole.
You are an Economist. Your job is NOT politics. Leave it to the politicians.
Your job is to guide country in line with good Economic principles.
STICK TO YOUR TASK you fidiot. Don’t loose sight of what you have to do. You are an intellectual and behave so.
Don’t waste our vote by going after nonsense. We Need To move On.
GET STARTED MAN.
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bo / January 19, 2015
Where does it say that the money has been paid to deposit ballot papers that were already filled by government supporters in favor of MR?
What I read on the forms (the last one) is that the contents of the boxes were posters to be displayed (or stuck in prominent places)in the area, the posters showing specimen ballot papers on how to correctly vote by placing a cross.
Is the writer making up a story to incite the public, connecting this form to the receipt for 1053 x Rs 10,000. The money might have been collected as the payment for the duty voting center staff for the day, and nothing to do with the 23 boxes of posters. There were 1053 voting centers, so each center received Rs 10,000, and a number of display posters(not pre-filled ballot papers)out of the 23-boxes.
There is no wrong doing there.
I regret this type of news would bring disrepute to CT. MR’s excesses should be reported correctly, and story read and checked out. If not no one would believe or be able to differentiate which is true and which is false news.
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Kumar Pathirana / January 25, 2015
Wish to get the observations of a Govt. officer in service or retired who has done election duty as a Senior Presiding Officer (SPO) who is in-charge of a polling booth and also has gone in-charge of a counting centre as to how this rigging, if it took place went undetected. I have been only a SPO (late 1960s – early 1970s) as I remember, but was made aware of the counting procedure as well. In any case, wish to believe that any of the irregularities (if any) so far in our election history have not changed the final outcome. More productive will be to find solutions and implement the appropriate ones to avoid any proven irregularities. In that sense, making the proof of identity (for eg. NIC) mandatory has been a great decision.
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