Treasury ready to allocate funds for Presidential election: Finance Ministry

Colombo, July 27 (Daily Mirror) - State Minister for Finance Ranjith Siyambalapitiya said that if the number of Presidential candidates increases, leading to higher costs, there will be no financial issues as there are reserves for unforeseen circumstances.

He assured that the Treasury is prepared to allocate funds for the upcoming Presidential election as requested by the Election Commissioner.

The Minister said that Rs. 10 billion has been set aside for election activities through the last budget, and the economy is sufficiently regulated to free the money without disrupting cash flows.

The Election Commissioner's office has estimated the cost to be nearly Rs. 8 billion, and the Treasury is ready to release the funds for urgent needs such as printing, security, fuel and ballot boxes.