Powerful force pressuring Govt. Printer to delay printing of ballot papers- Union

Ballot papers for 10 districts had already been printed but progress was slow due to an unseen hand, trade unions of the Department of Government Printing said yesterday.Secretary of the Government Printing Employees Union, Asanka Sandaruwan, said that they started printing ballot papers on 12 February.

“We are still printing ballot papers. In our history we have never taken this long to print ballot papers,” he said.

Sandaruwan added that the Department has adequate material for printing, the necessary equipment and a trained staff. Therefore, the Department should not have any problems printing ballot papers, in a few days, in a secure and reliable manner.

“It’s not like we have not done this before. There are people here who can print these with their eyes closed. It is obvious that some powerful force is applying pressure on the Government Printer to delay the printing of ballot papers, in order to delay elections,” he said.

Earlier this week, Government Printer, Gangani Liyanage informed the Elections Commission that she can’t print the ballot papers, unless the full estimated cost of printing (Rs. 401,594,852.56) is settled.

She had cited, as the reason for the delay, President Ranil Wickremesinghe’s order, on January 31st, as the Minister of Finance, Economic Stabilisation and National Policies, to curtail government expenditure, with a warning to public officials that they would be personally held responsible for whatever goods and services they obtained on credit.