The Election Commission has no issue with the ‘Gas Cylinder’ symbol chosen by President Ranil Wickremesinghe, who is running as an independent candidate in the upcoming Presidential Election, Election Commission Chairman, R.M.A.L. Rathnayake said yesterday (20).
He explained that the gazette notification published for the Presidential Election has two sections: the first part lists the symbols of recognised political parties, and the second part details the symbols available to other parties and independent candidates.
According to Rathnayake, any political party or independent candidate can choose a symbol from the second part, and this does not violate election laws.
He also addressed concerns about the ‘Gas Cylinder’ symbol, noting that it had been an issue in the past during the Local Government Elections. However, he clarified that the gazette for the Local Government Elections and the one for the Presidential Election were issued separately on two different occasions.
Rathnayake further assured that since these symbols were published in two distinct gazettes, no legal issues would arise regarding their use on the ballot.