I wanted to resign, but changed my mind

By Niranjala Ariyawansha-Thursday, 26 Sep 2013

Commissioner of Elections, Mahinda Deshapriya, said the Inspector General of Police (IGP) informed him the case, where two plastic bags containing 1,000 marked ballot papers were discovered at the main counting centre in the Puttalam District, has been handed over to the CID.

Speaking at a media briefing yesterday, the Polls Chief said the ballot papers in question are now with the CID and in the event the Court orders a cancellation of the polls in the particular electorate, the Department is prepared to conduct fresh polls there.

Making an impassioned remark he said, "I am truly disappointed about what has happened due to the negligence of a few officials. As the marked ballet papers had been already counted and it could not have any impact on the declared results, but it cannot be dismissed easily due to the fact that it could dissipate people's trust in the electoral process. To rebuild people's trust will take a long time. The Secretary to the Ministry of Public Administration should take action against those who are responsible for the lapse. "I was severely hurt by this act of negligence. I first decided to resign from my post. However, later I changed my mind as I felt it was my duty to correct this mistake myself and decided to stay back," he said.