March 12 Movement issuing a statement yesterday urged all political parties and independent groups not to nominate candidates with questionable reputations and those despised by the public.
March 12 Movement’s in their statement further said. “Sri Lanka has been upholding representative democracy for the past 93 years. Over this period, the number of elections we have held is considerable. The Presidential Election held on September 21 was widely praised by both the general public and international observers. The March 12 Movement would like to emphasise that such an effective election culture was the result of the positive attitudes of all election stakeholders.
We are pleased to recall that the March 12 Movement adopted the theme of ‘Creating a Clean Political Culture’ long ago as part of our efforts to foster this positive electoral environment.
Therefore, we call upon all political party leaders, secretaries, and independent group leaders to focus on the following basic criteria when preparing candidate lists for the General Election. On March 12, 2015, all political party leaders signed an agreement endorsing eight criteria proposed by the March 12 Movement at the Bandaranaike Memorial International Conference Hall.
In this light, we urge all political parties to ensure that they follow the March 12 criteria when granting nominations for the upcoming election to select representatives for the 17th Parliament. Adhering to these criteria is a non-negotiable responsibility.
We also request that special attention be paid to individuals with the capacity and experience necessary to fulfil Parliament’s core responsibilities—legislating, managing state finances, and developing policies—while being sensitive to the public’s needs. In particular, nominations should be given only to candidates who have not been convicted of any crimes, who are free of bribery or corruption, and who are not associated with anti-social movements or improper financial dealings.
No candidate who has been convicted by a Court for misusing public funds or any other criminal offence should be nominated. Similarly, candidates currently facing legal proceedings should not be considered for nomination”.
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