By Sarah Hannan Political parties have complained to election monitoring bodies and the Election Commission (EC) over the strict campaigning regulations and the unfair advantage the ruling party has during the pre-election period, The Morning learnt. "The EC having decided that they are to strictly impose election campaigning regulations has limited the way candidates could canvas for the upcoming election. Furthermore, the complaints that have been forwarded to us are pertaining to non-adherence of health guidelines when conducting political meetings. Hopefully, once the health guidelines for elections are gazetted, we will be able to direct such incidents for the law enforcement authorities for action," Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) National Co-ordinator Manjula Gajanayake explained. In the backdrop of a potential second wave of Covid-19, many political parties have been forced to look at alternative methods to carry out their election campaigns. "Even during the presidential election, we encouraged political parties to move away from the traditional methods of poster campaigns and hosting mass rallies. The pandemic has now forced them to follow the regulations," noted Election Secretariat Commissioner General Saman Sri Ratnayake. Ratnayake also stated that even the alternative methods of campaigning need to be regulated and campaign financing trends should be closely monitored. However, these regulations need to be drafted into the Parliamentary Elections Act.