The arrested Kurunegala Deputy Mayor is not a member of the NPP!

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Azardeen Moinudeen, who was elected to the Kurunegala Municipal Council representing the All Ceylon People’s Congress and served as the Deputy Mayor of the Kurunegala Municipal Council (which is controlled by the National People’s Power Party), has been arrested while attempting to accept a bribe. While reporting on the incident, it was widely observed that some mainstream and social media outlets were misleadingly identifying the Deputy Mayor as a member of the National People’s Power. Below is the fact-check we conducted regarding these claims.

Social Media Posts:

A social media post claimed that the Deputy Mayor of Kurunegala, identified as a member of the National People’s Power (NPP), was caught accepting a bribe of 3 million rupees.

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The relevant post and similar posts were widely shared on social media.

Facebook Post 1 | Facebook Post 2 | Facebook Post 3

Fact Check:

Azardeen Moinudeen, the Deputy Mayor of the Kurunegala Municipal Council, was arrested by Bribery Commission officers at a hotel in Battaramulla while attempting to accept a 3 million rupee bribe. The arrest followed a complaint from a businessman who alleged the Deputy Mayor demanded the sum in exchange for awarding a tender to clean the Kurunegala bus stand and public toilets. Acting on this report, the Bribery Commission planned and executed a raid, apprehending the suspect in the act. He is scheduled to appear before the Colombo Chief Magistrate’s Court on May 9, 2026. More information can be found here, is available here, and is detailed here.

The arrested Deputy Mayor of the Kurunegala Municipal Council is not a member of the National People’s Power Party.

Azardeen Moinudeen was elected to the Kurunegala Municipal Council as a representative of the All Ceylon People’s Congress (ACMC), led by Rishad Bathiudeen. He later secured the Deputy Mayor position after supporting the National People’s Power Party (NPP) in forming the council. Following his arrest for bribery, the ACMC immediately suspended his party membership. Additional information is located here and is visible here,

Here is the distribution of Kurunegala Municipal Council seats from the last local government elections.

In the last local government election, the National People’s Power Party won 10 of the 22 elected members of the Kurunegala Municipal Council. Along with the bonus seats, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya Party won 5 seats, the Sri Lanka Mahajana Party won 2 seats, and the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), the Podujana Eksath Peramuna, the All Ceylon People’s Congress, the United National Party, and the United National Front won one seat each. Accordingly, since no political party has a fifty percent majority, a referendum has had to be held to elect the Mayor and Deputy Mayor. The National People’s Power Party has proposed that a secret ballot be held to elect the Mayor, while the Samagi People’s Power Party has proposed that an open ballot be held. 

Accordingly, the proposal to hold a secret ballot in the poll held to determine which voting system should be implemented has been passed by a majority of 2 votes. Accordingly, in the poll held, the group leader of the National People’s Power Party, Mr. Ananda Sahabandu, has received 12 votes, while Mr. Sumedha Aruna Shantha, who was nominated by the Samagi Jana Balawegaya Party, received 10 votes. 

According to the result, Mr. Ananda Sahabandu has been elected as the new Mayor of the Kurunegala Municipal Council. In the secret ballot held to elect the Deputy Mayor, Mr. Moinuddin Azharudeen of the All Ceylon People’s Congress Party, nominated by the National People’s Power Party, has won by a majority of 2 votes and has been appointed as the Deputy Mayor of the Kurunegala Municipal Council. He received 12 votes while Mr. Gamini Peramuna, nominated by the National People’s Power Party, received 10 votes. More information on this is available here.

Kurunegala Municipal Council – National People’s Power

To further confirm this, we consulted members of the National People’s Power (NPP) in the Kurunegala Municipal Council. They explained that while the NPP won 10 seats in the last local government election, it needed two additional seats to establish a majority. Consequently, the NPP secured support from Mr. Azardeen Moinudeen (representing the All Ceylon People’s Congress) and another independent candidate to form the council. NPP members clarified that Mr. Moinudeen provided the necessary support to establish the council but was never a member of their party.

National People’s Force

To officially address the rumors, we also contacted the media division of the National People’s Power. They confirmed that the arrested Deputy Mayor is not a member of the NPP. Instead, he is an elected representative of the All Ceylon People’s Congress, led by former Minister Rishad Bathiudeen.

We invite you to explore our fact-checking efforts.

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Conclusion:

Our investigation confirms that claims identifying the Deputy Mayor of the Kurunegala Municipal Council, who was arrested while attempting to accept a bribe, as a member of the National People’s Power, are false. 

The Deputy Mayor is an elected member of the Kurunegala Municipal Council representing the All Ceylon People’s Congress, led by Mr. Rishad Bathiudeen. He supported the National People’s Power in forming the Kurunegala Municipal Council and was subsequently proposed and elected as Deputy Mayor. Both the National People’s Power’s members in the Kurunegala Municipal Council and the party’s media division confirmed that he is not a member of the National People’s Power Party or its Kurunegala Municipal Council group.