A USAID sponsored programme aimed at voter education has been called off, after pressure from the Sri Lankan government, including Defence Secretary Gotabhaya Rajapaksa.
The programme, called 'educating voters so as to help with elections in the country', was advertised in several national papers, but civil society organisations have now been informed that the funds have been withdrawn and no applications are being taken, reported Ceylon Today.
Government spokesperson and media minister Keheliya Rambukwella denied that the government had called for the programme to be cancelled.
"We did not ask that the programme be stopped. We merely inquired as to why a country that has been voting since 1931, needs to be taught how to vote. We have a voter base of over 80%, while the US only has 60%. Therefore, we can't understand what they have to teach us about voting, if at all it should be the other way around. This is why we think that this programme is a means of interfering in our country's internal matters" Rambukwella told Ceylon Today.
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