This post has prompted the creation of various humorous responses on social media, leading FactSeeker to investigate the of the claim.

FactSeeker’s investigation revealed that Ashen Senarathna’s initial nomination under an independent party was rejected as it was submitted by an individual without proper authority.

Following this, he used his official Facebook page to urge voters from the Colombo district to support the independent party symbolized by a set of keys, thus providing him the opportunity to represent himself in Parliament.

The independent party in question, known as Group Number 15, indeed contested the elections. However, upon further examination, it was confirmed that Ashen Senarathna’s name was not included on the list of candidates. Instead, Dr. Sasiṇdu Mahanama led the Group Number 15 for the parliamentary elections.

A review of Dr. Mahanama’s official Facebook page revealed coverage from Newsfirst indicating that Ashen Senarathna was listed as a candidate for the national list for the relevant independent group.

Thus, FactSeeker turned its attention to the number of votes received by Group Number 15 in the Colombo district during the recent parliamentary elections. According to the final official results from the Colombo district, the independent party secured a total of 1,792 votes.

You can view these official results here: https://election.news.lk/parliamentary-election-2024/colombo/colombo-district-final.

The total postal votes cast for this group amounted to just 08.

The official postal vote results can be found here: https://election.news.lk/parliamentary-election-2024/colombo/colombo-ds-postal-vote.

Accordingly, FactSeeker confirms that the claims circulating on social media stating that Ashen Senarathna, contesting under the motorcycle symbol for the National List, received only eight votes are false.