EC members meet President

• EC Chairman tells President Election would cost up to Rs. 10 b
• Additional expenses to be incurred due to COVID-19 prevention measures

Chairman of the Election Commission Mahinda Deshapriya informed President Gotabaya Rajapaksa yesterday that the upcoming Parliamentary Election could cost up to Rs. 10 billion due to the additional expenses that has to be incurred to put COVID-19 prevention health safeguards into place.

Deshapriya, along with the other two members of the Commission, N.J. Abeysekara PC and Prof. S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole, met with the President yesterday to discuss related issues in connection with the 5 August Parliamentary Election.

The EC Chairman informed that while it was initially estimated the election would cost around Rs. 6-7 billion, this cost would rise to around Rs. 10 billion, given the additional expenses.

President Rajapaksa has assured that the necessary funds would be made available to the EC, and requested the EC members to take necessary measures to ensure that the election is conducted in a free, fair, and impartial manner.