EC bans propaganda via SMS and phone calls

Sri Lanka,

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Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said today that propaganda messages transmitted via telephone calls and SMS were a contravention of election laws and service providers had been instructed not to send out such messages without the consent of the subscribers.


“Several complaints are being received about recorded propaganda messages of candidates contesting the elections being transmitted through telephone calls of various telephone networks,” he said in a statment.

The statement states that complaints are also being received about SMS’s that are being sent. The complainants state further that the transmission of such messages to subscribers without their consent is an obstruction to the conduct of a free and fair election. All the candidates and their supporters are kindly requested to refrain from such propaganda activities without the consent of the subscribers. Such activities will be treated as a contravention of election and general laws.

It further states that action is being taken to inform all fixed line and mobile telephone service providers to abstain from transmitting such organized recorded messages or SMS’s to subscribers without their consent or their prior knowledge.