Yesterday at 3:04 pm, we tweeted, "Sri Lanka 🇱🇰 presidential candidates miss election finance filing deadline!"

Did we jump the gun regarding the campaign expenditure filing? No, we did not.

⭕️ The EC initially set the deadline for submission at 3:00 pm on October 13th. Then, after the fact, they changed the deadline from 3:00 pm to midnight.

⭕️ Many candidates filed the expenditure reports after the initially set deadline (probably after the backlash). Please refer to the date of submission and the order.

⭕️In our opinion, the 21-day period set by the Act for filing these reports is not a reasonable amount of time. The Act requires highly detailed accounts of donations and expenditures, and preparing such comprehensive reports within a short timeframe is extremely challenging. (The Act should be amended to change the timeframe to 2-3 months.)

⭕️ You may notice numerous errors and inaccuracies in these reports when the Election Commission makes them public within the next 10 days, especially if candidates suddenly realize they need to submit them.

#SriLanka