EC suspends poll officials in Karnataka amid allegations of voter fraud
New Delhi, Nov 25: The Election Commission on Friday directed officials for a review of the deletions and additions in the electoral rolls of three Assembly seats in Karnataka and ordered the suspension of two additional district election officials after allegations of "electoral fraud" in the state.
The poll authority also directed the chief electoral officer to share a list of all deletions and additions made to the electoral rolls of the Shivajinagar, Chickpet and Mahadevapura Assembly seats after January 1, 2022 with all the recognised political parties so as to enable them to file claims and objections.
The Election Commission directives came a day after the Congress petitioned the poll authority, seeking a detailed investigation into the "voter information theft fraud" in Karnataka.
The Congress had alleged that 27 lakh names were deleted and 11 lakh voters added to the voters' lists of the three Assembly constituencies, claiming that the employees of a private company had collected voters' data, impersonating as government officials.
The commission also appointed officers from outside the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP), under which the three Assembly seats fall, to oversee the exercise of ensuring the purity of the electoral rolls.
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IMF approves USD 206 million emergency funding for cyclone-hit Sri Lanka's recovery
Colombo (PTI): The IMF has approved an emergency funding of USD 206 million under its rapid finance instrument to help Sri Lanka “address the urgent needs arising from the catastrophic Cyclone Ditwah and preserve macroeconomic stability”.
The cyclone caused widespread destruction in the island nation and left over 643 people dead.
In a statement issued on Friday, the Washington-based International Monetary Fund (IMF) said the disaster has created urgent humanitarian and reconstruction needs, generating significant fiscal pressures and balance-of-payments needs.
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The emergency financial support provided by the IMF under the rapid finance instrument will help address these pressures, it said.
The IMF added that the cyclone devastation hit when the Fifth Review of Sri Lanka’s USD 2.9 billion bailout was nearing completion.
“Given the time needed to assess the economic impact of the cyclone and examine how an IMF-supported programme can best support Sri Lanka’s recovery and reconstruction efforts while preserving objectives and policy priorities, the Fifth Review has been deferred," it said.
"An IMF mission team will visit Sri Lanka in early 2026 to resume discussions,” it added.
The 48-month extended fund facility deal with the IMF in March 2023 carried hard reforms to Sri Lanka's welfare-based governance.
It was signed after Sri Lanka plunged into an unprecedented economic meltdown with its first-ever sovereign default.
Several hours before the IMF decision, the parliament here approved without a vote a supplementary estimate of LKR 500 billion, which the government said was required to restore the livelihoods of those affected by the disaster.
