Head of IRES, Manjula Gajanayake, said that during the 2024 Presidential Election—one of the most significant elections in the country—at least 15 candidates showed little or no visible campaign activity, while three candidates were described as being “almost missing” throughout the election period.
He noted that several other candidates remained largely inactive, failing to hold public meetings, engage with voters, or clearly communicate policy positions. Some candidates, he said, could not be publicly traced until the final stages of the election, raising serious questions about the purpose of their candidacies and the administrative burden placed on the electoral system.
A total of 39 candidates contested the most recent Presidential Election, one of the highest numbers recorded in Sri Lanka’s electoral history.
Gajanayake warned that without stronger nomination requirements and enforcement mechanisms introduced by the Election Commission, future elections could see an even greater number of symbolic or non-serious candidates.
IRES has called for electoral reforms including stricter eligibility criteria, increased nomination deposits, and closer scrutiny of candidate engagement in order to safeguard electoral integrity and ensure voters are presented with genuine choices at national elections.
