28 March, 2024

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Deshapriyagates: Leaked Audio Recordings Prove Samagi Jana Balawegaya Votes In Jeopardy

The Chairman Elections Commission Mahinda Deshapriya‘s concocted plan with the Samagi Jana Balawegaya to help contest the upcoming General Elections has now raised serious concerns and in fact jeopardizes the democratic voting privileges of voters, Colombo Telegraph can reveal today.

Multiple groups are now considering to file cases against the Samagi Jana Balawegaya and its candidates’ legitimacy in contesting the General Elections in the Appeal Court and the District Court after the General Elections are concluded, Colombo Telegraph learns.

Mahinda Deshapriya

Meanwhile the current Colombo District United National Party candidate Oshala Herath claims that the upcoming General Elections scheduled to be held on the 5th of August 2020 will be one of the most corrupt elections ever to be held in Sri Lanka.

Reiterating this fact, the UNP candidate Herath who spoke to Colombo Telegraph also submitted four voice recordings proving that Chairman of EC Mahinda Deshapriya is in fact the most corrupt official in his capacity to ever conduct a General Election in Sri Lanka.

The four voice recordings are testimony that the Chairman of EC Deshapriya is of the knowledge that the candidature of the UNP breakaway faction headed by former MP Sajith Premadasa contesting under the Samagi Jana Balawegaya is illegal and is in direct violation of the constitution that governs the Parliamentary Elections Act.

These voice recordings are all pertaining to the petition filed in the Supreme Court by UNP Candidate Oshala Herath against the UNP breakaway group from contesting the General Elections under the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) party.

The voice recordings clearly hears the EC Chairman Deshapriya stating that irregularities in handling this process were committed by the Elections Commission, how documents were illegally back dated, influencing the Petitioner to suppress information from the Supreme Court and leaking of information to both petitioner and respondents.

Speaking further to Colombo Telegraph, the UNP candidate Oshala Herath stated “The Chairman EC Mahinda Deshapriya knew that the other respondents contesting the General Elections were in violation of their own Party’s constitution. Their constitution states that no one could be made a member if they are currently a member of another political party, no new member could hold office in the first three months of joining the party, the appointment of a Chairman and Secretary was done by a committee that had no authority to do so and that any amendments made to their party’s constitution needs to be filed with the Elections Commission within 30 days. Chairman EC Deshapriya was well aware of all of these flaws (Listen to Audios 1 & 4 below). He in fact got down former MP Sujeewa Senasinghe and PC Lawyer Farman Cassim to meet me in his office at the Election Commission. The meeting went on for over two and a half hours and I have that entire recording too. It was all planned by Deshapriya. He then instructed them to take me to meet Sajith Premadasa and settle this matter before it could reach the Supreme Court. As the Chairman of Election Commission he should have been independent and not interfered in such a manner. After all, my business dealings with him were to seek information, as I informed him that I was going to file a petition in the Supreme Court. Later the Chairman of EC Mahinda Deshapriya even informed me as to what ploy and strategy the respondents’ legal team was going to use. He also requested me to suppress evidence and not submit phone recordings. Listen to the audio tapes. It is all there and crystal clear”.

In one recording Mahinda Deshapriya himself informs Oshala Herath that the respondents’ legal team is going to fabricate a story in courts, stating that the Samagi Jana Balawegaya Party had in fact submitted the letter to the Elections Commission, but that the letter has now been misplaced. This is pertaining to the letter that was supposed to be filed by the SJB within 30 days of making any changes to their party’s constitution. (Listen to Audio 2)

Political Activists now believe and suspect that the Chairman Deshapriya’s permitting Sajith Premadasa and his UNP breakaway team contesting the upcoming General Election is in fact a ploy to provide leverage to the Sri Lanka Podujana Pakshaya (SLPP).

It is reliably learnt that they too would be taking this matter up in Courts after the General Elections is concluded.

A political activist speaking to Colombo Telegraph said “We saw this happen in 2015 with Geetha Kumarasinghe too. The EC accepted her nomination papers even though she was a citizen of another country and held dual citizenship. She was subsequently stripped of her parliamentary seat despite being elected by her voters”.

“What assurance would voters of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya have that something similar could take place after the elections are over? It could easily be proven that Sajith Premadasa and his breakaway UNP team contested this General Election in an illegal manner. Is that why the leader of the UNP Ranil Wickremesinghe is so calm about this entire affair? Is that why former Minister Mangala Samaraweera also changed his mind in contesting with Sajith Premadasa’s group at the last minute and suddenly went into retirement?” the Political Activist went on to state.

Meanwhile former Minister and UNP candidate for Colombo Ravi Karunanayake also confidently stated in a recent interview that those that broke away from the party would soon find themselves out of politics. He appeared very confident when saying it.

“If after a General Election in a particular district, the Courts hold that the nomination paper of a particular party should have been rejected, then the result in that district should be re-calculated without taking the votes received by that party into consideration and a revised result announced,” a President Counsel and a constitutional expert explaining the legal aspects of this situation told Colombo Telegraph.

Earlier on the 9th of June 2020, the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka had not granted leave to proceed to a writ application filed by UNP Candidate Oshala Herath.

“The Supreme Court probably saved the day for SJB contestants to contest,” a legal expert said.

Speaking to Colombo Telegraph, UNP candidate Herath said “The dismissal of the filed petition and writ application did not permit us to present our findings. Had these voice recordings being produced perhaps the three judge bench’s decision may have been different. Hopefully after this expose, even the judicial system may perhaps have to rethink their current due process of how filed petitions are dismissed. This clearly exposes a loophole in the legal system”.

The petition filed by Oshala Herath had named Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya, the members of the Elections Commission – President’s Counsel Nalin Abeysekara, Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole, Saman Sri Ratnayake Commissioner General of the Elections Commission. Leader of the SJB Sajith Premadasa, SJB General Secretary Ranjith Maddu Mabandara, Chairman of Our National Front party Senaka de Silva and Secretary Diana Gamage as respondents. (By Manishka Unantenne)

 

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Latest comments

  • 53
    14

    Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole may come out of all these with flying colours!

    • 23
      10

      Yes, Jeevan Hoole is a hero – although he has not benefitted from his honesty – and see what “vipuli” dares to say!
      .
      Sajith became the best leader possible because of Ranil’s intransigence. However, I’m convinced that some of the others in that team are better than “promise-making-Sajith”.
      .
      I made many comments here:
      .
      https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/poisoned-paradise/
      .
      And I’ve just replied Prof. Sarvan’s email.

      • 35
        8

        Sinhala Man,
        not because he is also from your alma mater, but we notice from the begining on – Prof Hoole is gem of a person. I dont care about race, religion or whatever other segregations but I only respect personalities.

        Agree with you – SP is matured than we never guessed at. His 20K allowance ot the destitute people is caught by heavy criticisms by PUnnaku eaters, however, it is possible to grant that 50 dollars a family if the state would save the sums to the manner Good governance did it.
        Current criminals take everything away from the people, but giving nothing. Not even fertilizer concession or oil price reduction are yet offered to the people ??? Really surprising, punnakku eating majority people would not utter a single word on it. ????????????????????????

        • 1
          4

          LEELA,
          How much did you pay this stand in for Deshapriya? Good attempt but no intelligent being would buy this. Except of course the punnaku eating sods that you try to convince who join the queue to make comments. I feel sorry for them because you are like the pied piper taking people to shame.

          Just be realistic Leela. Would any respectable court (unless it is a Kangaroo court) entertain this comedy?

          Your lot conveniently left out the most corrupt member of the EC Ranthnajeevan Hoole, but heaped insults on Deshapriya. I would not call this scandalous because this petition will not reach the courts and you will become the laughing stock. Why not consult the eminent Sumanthiran?

          You and your editorial team are pathetic even to use these devious methods to gain what?

          Grow up man!!. I am sure the decent Tamil people ( I still respect them as our people) must be cringing in disgust that you and your team have gone down to such low levels.

          In between, you mention about fertiliser. What a pathetic idiot you have become. Did the Northern brethren get any free Fertizer during the Yahapalana regime who took everything away from the people and gave nothing in return? Evidence are coming out slowly. When these corruptions are revealed I wonder who you are going to blame then. Rajapaksas again ??????????

      • 7
        1

        CORRECTION, leelagemalli,
        .
        Professor Jeevan Hoole was never at S. Thomas’. That I hail him as a hero, I grant. I’m not very sure whether he was in other schools before he got to St John’s, Chundikuli, Jaffna. He knows no Sinhalese.
        .
        We attach far too much of importance to alma maters in Sri Lanka. We must move towards a society which truly has a good school within walking distance of every child.
        .
        Like me, Professor Jeevan Hoole is rather a loose cannon, may be, but these are now the finest months of his life, when he has acted honestly, with courage and conviction.
        .
        I once saw his eldest brother, Dr Michael RatnaRajan Richard Hoole described as “the Greater Hoole”. Some truth in that, but he never became a Professor, because for fifteen years he was a vagabond in the South of Sri Lanka, during the heydays of the LTTE. He was my classmate in S. Thomas’ Gurutalawa and Mt Lavinia. He speaks reasonable Sinhala (although I have never heard it). We converse entirely in English – I would it were different, but we’ve got to be truthful.

        • 1
          1

          Wow what an accolade to Rathnajeevan Hoole.

          “Like me, Professor Jeevan Hoole is rather a loose cannon, may be, but these are now the finest months of his life, when he has acted honestly, with courage and conviction”.

          I like your comparison. By the way how is your Pharmaceutical deals in SL going on? Just a comment now that Rajitha is no more the Minister.

      • 0
        0

        Part Two
        .
        The second in the family was the late Charles RatnaMuthan Hoole. He was at S. Thomas’, Gurutalawa for one year only – 1964 – and then went back to St John’s, Jaffna.
        .
        Professor RatnaJeevan Hoole is the third in the family, and the most academically qualified. He is a strong Christian and a very outgoing friendly man. He is approachable, as my Dormitory-mate (he, like me, will never be famous), Sunil Jayasundera found out. Sunil and his wife are candidates in Colombo District, Independent Group 7, led by Nagananda Kodituwakku.
        .
        These are very honest people. My prediction is that they will get 223 votes, Preferences for Naganada will be 207 votes, and for Sunil, 52 votes.
        .
        Had Nagananda been allowed to contest the Presidential Elections he would have got about 150,000 votes.
        .
        https://cmev.files.wordpress.com/2020/06/colombo-district.pdf
        .
        There’s an array of materials in the home page which I haven’t explored:
        .
        https://cmev.org/
        .
        Please see:
        .
        https://www.colombotelegraph.com/index.php/poisoned-paradise/
        .
        I asked genuine questions there, and taking account of the responses received, I have made up my mind about my own voting.

    • 1
      0

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    • 1
      0

      This comment was removed by a moderator because it didn’t abide by our Comment policy.

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  • 13
    36

    What a travesty, This commissioner and the other two,especially Samuel Hoole have been the enemies of democracy in Sri Lanka. This what is known as “Tongue in Cheek”. None should be spared.

  • 21
    4

    As expected RW is going after Sajith because he has nothing e;se to show. . Oshala Herath is trying to be the next Sajith now that the position is vacant. Remember the citizenship issues what MD said then. Though the powers (endless) and independence are way too magnified by our public , Hoole can confirm there is no such thing in Lanka. We have witnessed this in past, where MD was in tears ,admitted in public, found him self helpless/hopeless situations, threatened to quit and we all know what happened to Hoole recently (and his future after elections), It is for Oshala and the rest to take it to courts and show their knowledge in Lankan constitution. Good Luck with that. I am surprised MD and the rest are still with EC.

  • 28
    6

    UNP works hard to give 2/3 to SLPP.

  • 22
    1

    This is a very unfortunate development.

    The voters are being taken for a ride. Election petition is a legitimate weapon in the hand of the defeated.

    The decision to disqualify a winning candidate is immoral and if it is in large numbers should be avoided.

    Otherwise, go for a reelection and the cost of re election recovered from the culprit.

    Any omission or commission of the Election commission should not deprive the voter’s right to elect the candidate as per the voter’s choice.

    What we want is a free and fair election. Voters should elect, not judiciary or any outsider.

    Election is not a farce !

    Settle all disputes well before the Election Day !

    The right of a voter is paramount !

  • 11
    7

    Those who attack the credibility of the Chairman of EC do not appear to realize that their credibility is negligible compared to the Chairman of EC.

  • 20
    5

    Dear Readers, Let s wait until Prof Hoole spills the bean. I have no faith on MaCo and his beats around the bush statements. I dont find him to be a genuine person either. He should not have been MaCo if law and order works in this country properly. Anyways where almost everything is in gone into pieces as of today, what more would not.
    :
    If SJB would no thave right to contest, the very same should be the case with SLPP men. Basta.

  • 31
    4

    I don’t know how far this recordings are reliable but one thing is very clear that the constitutional plot against this nation to lead towards a Mahinda Family dictatorship is real and the dangers face the country is real. I can’t think of any possible outcome that could be a disaster.

  • 19
    1

    This is interesting. Did the Chairman of the Election Commission influence the petitioner? This is the critical question. Having listened to the video recordings I do not get any evidence to influence anybody and to favour one party (potential party) or other. This Oshala chap is scared that he will lose the election and now trying to discredit the recognition of the JSB. This is a ploy of the UNP to confuse the electorate. Mr Wickramasingh and that thief Ravi are behind this ploy. Shame on you UNP.

  • 17
    4

    I told my wife never ever trust a Sinhaleese which includes me as well. (no typo)

  • 25
    4

    Why did Oshala Herath meet MD with the intention of recording the whole 2 hour conversation ???? Has anyone thought about it. From the time Sajith parted ways The “Covenant house” famed RW and his cohorts have been threatening of illegality, inability to contest election and legal actions. When that did not stop Sajith from contesting ,now they are trying through applying pressure on MD. Their sole purpose is to get even by creating doubts in voters mind and see Sajith,s down fall. It is no secret RW,s people worked against Sajith in the previous election,even after nominating him as their official candidate. RW is good enough for only such things. There is also some apprehension what if Sajith garners more support than RW. If they are so sure let them go file a case and disqualify Sajith. Remember MD said his job is not even verifying citizenship of a candidate, it s up to SC. MD, job seems to be , just putting a face to a name (like an invigilator), coordinate an election witch can be passed off as decent and announce result. The title may carry more weight, power and independence but not in Sri Lanka. I am no Sajith fan but RW is chameleon by birth, but now aged and impotent.

    • 27
      2

      RW had many chances to do something good for this country, and he was incompetent, weak, and the opposition was able to walk all over him. It was because of his weakness that we are cursed with the Rajapaksa’s again.

    • 9
      2

      chiv,
      May I condition the sentence ” but RW is chameleon by birth, ?

      How does this read? “Though the only remaining politicians, who is in the contemporary politics has not changed his color from congenital green to anything else yet, but RW is chameleon by birth, “?

      • 3
        0

        May be Chiv mistook a slippery no good eel for a chameleon ?

  • 13
    0

    ELECTION COMMISSIONER AND MEMBERS ARE WORKING UNDER HEAVY PRESSURE ALL PARTIES.AT THIS RATE NO BODY WILL ACCEPT THIS POST IF THERE IS GOING TO BE ONE AFTER AUGUST 5TH.NEXT ELECTION COMMISSIONER WILL BE KAMAL GUNARATNE OR HENDAVITHARANA IN THE ALTERNATIVE HAND OVER THE CONDUCT OF ELECTIONS TO A CHINESE COMPANY ON CONTRACT BASIS.

  • 5
    1

    I doubt if there are any material legally strong enough for a court case. But I cannot understand the tapes. Irreverent of that, Mahinda Patriotic Deshapriya seems to have used words to keep him out of court case. Any government official can advise to make peace between two warring parties coming under his purview. But accepting favors or bribes to do like that can jeopardize his defense. The jigsaw dating puzzle of letters was done by Old King & New King, when Old King was challenged of being selected for opposition party leader. EC played some trick there too to accommodate back Old King to SLFP. EC might have destroyed documents and altered internal registers to achieve that. So EC seems to be a trained technician in date game.
    My question is, does Tissaranee Gunasekara had any roles in this or did aware of this? She wants voters to waste their votes by voting to SJB and UNP.

  • 8
    3

    Mallai, you got me there buddy. Anyway what I meant was the character and not the party. To be honest most are of the same but this guy just stands out.There were more amusing developments in Lanka. Before the whole CID was put on the “watch list”. Now the CID is ordered to investigate the STF ,because they are now specialized in drugs and arms dealing. In the mean time MR says if elected he will keep the country free of drugs and mafia. I thought he was already the PM and his brother has full control of the forces. Uncle never gets tired in keeping us amused. .By the way after Brazil now the Bolivian President is positive for Covid.(any Bolivian fans???) After all the victory laps Covid keeps flaring up in Lanka. Kamal G has vowed to wipe out Covid and assured Lankans not to panic. After , all the debates,analysis,claims and victory laps, mostly by our non medicos Covid has proved them all , not just wrong but fools.(where is our great Anthropologist from US ?? Must be in hiding). When EU/UK have denied entry of Lankans , Russians have readily agreed. Reason is any way they have thousands turning positive for Covid daily and they do not mind adding a few more from Lanka. . I guess this much is enough to keep us amused for a week.

  • 8
    1

    Machiavelli would have met his Waterloo in Srilanka!

  • 9
    0

    “He in fact got down …Senasinghe and …Cassim to meet me in his office at the Election Commission. The meeting went on for over two and a half hours and I have that entire recording too. It was all planned by Deshapriya.”
    Was the recording too planned by Deshapriya?
    *
    Frivolities apart, there is an ethical question. CT is siding with an interested party whose conduct is not admirably ethical.
    It is most unethical to record discussion at meetings (formal or otherwise) without the knowledge or consent of other participant(s).
    I cannot comment on the content since my fluency in Sinhala is not that great, and my hearing is far from brilliant.
    It would have helped if a transcript was provided.
    But most importantly, the Chairman, EC should have been confronted by CT with the recordings and asked to comment, before allowing what seems a vile personal attack on him
    It is sad that the EC has failed to act as a collectively responsible body.
    Where personal views begin and organizational positions end seems vague, and why much of the boxing occurs outside the ring also has baffled me.

    • 1
      0

      S.J,
      It seems to me that CT has whipped up a lot of smoke, but no fire . CT does this now and then, as in the case of the AG, Dappula De Lovers, who goes from being Evil to Good and back again. CT’s reasoning is inscrutable.

    • 3
      0

      S.J,
      It seems to me that CT has whipped up a lot of smoke, but no fire . CT does this now and then, as in the case of the AG, Dappula De Livera, who goes from being Evil to Good and back again. CT’s reasoning is inscrutable.

      • 1
        0

        OC
        Thanks. Not many notice this aspect.
        Are you using the word “inscrutable” TiC?

        • 0
          0

          SJ,
          I can’t use more explicit words to criticize editorial policy. Still, this is one forum that is remarkably open.

  • 2
    0

    Sri Lanka is a land of corruption. How can a vote expect host elections? After the elections EC chairman may retire and get a foreign appointment.

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