• Informs in writing to take apt action if a violation of election-laws has occurred due to political/legal ‘gaffe’ 

The Election Commission (EC) has informed the Acting Inspector General of Police (IGP) Priyantha Weerasooriya to investigate the recent statement made by Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya regarding the 'silent period' related to the Local Government (LG) Elections, and take appropriate action.

A statement made by the Premier was being widely shared on social media platforms, in which she said: “We will be silent in another four hours. But, you don’t have to be, right? You can still spread the word with a phone call, or a quick word while walking down the road.”

When queried by The Daily Morning as to whether they have taken any action on the statement, EC Chairperson, R.M.A.L. Rathnayake said that they had informed the Acting IGP in writing to investigate the statement in question, and take appropriate action if it amounted to a violation of elections-related laws. 

"We sent a letter to the Acting IGP with copies to the Premier's Secretary (Pradeep Saputhanthri), and the National People's Power General Secretary (Dr. Nihal Abeysinghe)." The Acting IGP will take the necessary course of action."

On an earlier occasion, he said that they would first refer the matter to the EC's Legal Division. "It is necessary to know what exactly she meant. Therefore, we have to refer it to our Legal Division and see what action we can take. It should be looked into to determine how that statement may have violated the law. We need to prove that the statement refers specifically to something that is against elections-related laws," he said at the time.

The elections-related campaigning activities pertaining to the 2025 LG Elections officially concluded at midnight on 3 May, marking the start of the 'silent period', which remained in effect until the date of the Elections (Tuesday [6]). All recognised political parties, independent groups, and candidates representing them had been informed not to engage in any form of campaigning during this period, and for the media to refrain from reporting on the same.