“Given that Jeevan Thondaman is not a minister, we are of the view that he is misusing the MSD officers’ unit which was assigned to provide protection to his late father. Our on-ground observers reported that they witnessed the presence of MSD officers at the canvassing meetings the candidate was hosting over the past few days,” CMEV National Co-ordinator Manjula Gajanayake told The Morning.
When we contacted the MSD Director, he informed us that he was yet to see the said letter that was sent to his division by the CMEV and that he was not in a position to say what action would be taken over the alleged misuse of his unit officers.
Gajanayake also noted that they have requested a security assessment report on why the MSD assigned such a unit to provide protection to Thondaman.
The CMEV also pointed out that their monitoring work gets hindered when law enforcement authorities or state institutes do not promptly respond to the queries that are forwarded to them to ensure that elections are conducted in a free and fair manner, no candidate is afforded special treatment regardless of their political influences, and a level-playing field is created for them.
