Actress and political activist Damitha Abeyratne has lodged a formal complaint with the Ratnapura Returning Officer and the Elections Commission over the sudden removal of her name from the Ratnapura District nomination list.
Abeyratne, who arrived at the Ratnapura District Secretariat to submit her nomination, expressed her disappointment upon discovering that her name had been excluded from the list. According to reports, her name was removed following objections from other candidates and party members in the district.
The district leader, Hesha Withanage, submitted the revised nomination list, which did not include Abeyratne’s name, to Returning Officer Wasantha Gunaratne. Speaking to the media after making her complaint, Abeyratne claimed that her candidacy had been proposed by a former Parliamentarian and expressed frustration over the last-minute decision to remove her name. “I did not want to come to Ratnapura. He wanted me to contest here. He has misled the party leader too,” she said.
A tense situation arose when she realized that her nomination had been omitted, prompting her to formally complain, citing unfair treatment.
Addressing the media, Hesha Withanage, the SJB leader for Ratnapura, acknowledged the support Abeyratne has given to the party but explained that her name had to be removed to ensure representation from women within the district. He stated that Ridma Dharmawardena, Secretary of the SJB Ratnapura District Local Government Members Association, had been included instead, emphasizing the importance of selecting candidates familiar with the district’s challenges.