The Election Commission is evaluating potential actions against a senior official from the Presidential Media Division following complaints of disseminating false information regarding postal voting for the presidential election. The issue revolves around claims that Deputy Media Director Sandun Arosha Fernando misrepresented information on Facebook, asserting that September 4 was the opening day for postal voting.
The complaint details that Fernando’s Facebook post inaccurately reported postal vote results and percentages for presidential candidates Ranil Wickramasinghe, Sajith Premadasa, and Anura Kumara Dissanayake. The Election Commission noted that no postal votes had been counted yet, making the distribution of such information misleading.
Ms. Piumi Atigala, Deputy Commissioner of the Election Commission, described the spread of false information as a serious offense that misleads the public and undermines the Commission’s role in issuing official election results. The Commission has since removed the erroneous posts and is deliberating on the appropriate measures to address the incident.
Director General Saman Sri Ratnayake criticized the dissemination of unverified information, emphasizing that it was intended to sway public perception and promote a specific candidate. He highlighted a lack of understanding of election laws among those involved in spreading such misinformation.
