If politicians steal, the public is also to be blamed since they have a misconception that all politicians are thieves, Mahinda Deshapriya, Chairman of the Elections Commission, said yesterday.

Deshapirya made this observation a during workshop held at Kurunegala District Secretariat yesterday morning to raise awareness about the new electoral system. 

Deshapriya further expressed that “There is a common miconception that politicians are thieves. If you inform your family that you are contesting, they will be asking you whether have you gone mad and if you are going to steal. So this shows that politicians are not born as thieves and made such by masses.”