Sri Lankan government denies using state resources to skew poll

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa gestures as he speaks during a news conference at the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) in Colombo November 17, 2013. REUTERS/Dinuka Liyanawatte

COLOMBO (Reuters) - Sri Lanka's government has denied allegations made by a group of independent monitors that it is using state resources to give an unfair advantage to President Mahinda Rajapaksa who is running for an unprecedented third term in next month's election.

The seven observer groups, some of which are funded by foreign non-governmental organisations, on Thursday raised concerns that the ruling party was exploiting public services and employees and that the police were ignoring complaints.