Sri Lankan police have received 75.8 million Rs. to remove illegal “election propaganda” ahead of the parliamentary election and the police have hired 1,539 workers to support this effort.
The police and these workers are engaged in removing posters, banners, and cut-outs belonging to political candidates, Colombo Page has reported. Banners, cut-outs, posters, and “digital propaganda” have been banned for the parliamentary elections which are scheduled for the 5 August.
SP Jaliya Senaratne, a spokesman for Sri Lanka’s police, has stated that active measures will be taken to stop all illegal propaganda activities and those engaging in such activities will face legal action.
Opposition politician, Shiral Lakthilaka, has warned that government is increasing surveillance of civil society actors and want to post intelligence officers in every polling station.
The growing surveillance state in Sri Lanka has concerned civil society actors who are routinely threatened by Sri Lanka’s security forces, especially within the North-East, where many Tamil hum rights defenders continue to face harassment and intimidation.
Read more here: Sri Lankan opposition warns of intelligence officers at polling stations as part of state surveillance
Read more from the Colombo Page.
