Moneragala High Court Judge Ranga Dissanayake delivered a landmark judgment on September 13, 2021, disqualifying a candidate convicted of bribing voters, Daily Mirror reported quoting a statement from People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections(PAFFREL) said.
As the Daily Mirror reported, PAFFREL said the judgment was given in respect to a case filed in collaboration with the losing candidate and the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence against a candidate of one of the local government bodies in the Moneragala District for offering various kinds of bribes to the voters at the last local government elections.
The judgment declared the candidate who had purportedly won the seat by bribing the voters as null and void. He was removed by order of the Court and the candidate who had secured the next highest number of votes was ordered to be appointed to fill the vacant position.
This historic ruling will serve as a deterrent to future candidates in bribing the voters. Even if they continue to bribe, their election will be liable to be challenged subsequently. In addition, the need for enacting laws to limit election expenses by candidates and provision of a level playing field for all candidates in an election has been re-emphasized, the PAFFREL said.
Also, it is important to note that the implementation of the Right to Information Act has paved the way for procuring the information required for this legal victory.
