Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) leader and MP Mano Ganesan has written to the Parliamentary Committee on Public Finance (COPF) requesting a formal investigation into the alleged reallocation of funds earmarked for Provincial Council (PC) elections, Newswire reported on Sunday.
In a letter dated June 1 and addressed to COPF Chairman Harsha de Silva, Ganesan cited remarks attributed to Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) General Secretary Tilvin Silva that money set aside for PC polls had been used by the government for “disaster-rebuilding and related purposes”. Parliament, Ganesan said, had not approved any transfer or reallocation of those funds to other expenditure heads to his knowledge.
If accurate, the TPA leader argued, Silva’s account would point to unauthorised use of public finance without parliamentary sanction, and he urged the COPF to “examine the facts and determine whether any transfer, reallocation, or expenditure of election funds had occurred in violation of parliamentary approval and financial regulations.” The letter requests that the committee act within its mandate.
The intervention escalates a politically charged exchange. Cabinet Spokesman Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa on May 26 disputed Silva’s framing, telling reporters financial provisions for PC polls had been allocated and that the real obstacle was the legal framework. Silva himself had earlier signalled that resources were redirected to Cyclone Ditwah recovery and that polls were unlikely before 2027, while parties and the Election Commission have since reached broad agreement to fast-track legal amendments.
Provincial Councils have stood without elected members since terms began expiring in 2017. A parliamentary committee summoned the Election Commission last month over the stalled process. COPF Chair Harsha de Silva has not publicly commented on Ganesan’s letter at the time of writing.
Sources: Mano calls for COPF probe into alleged diversion of election funds — Newswire.
