Does anyone know...

....how much and where all the money for the presidential election came from?

I'm not asking about the cost of the election in terms of printing the ballots, logistics involved, for which I presume the Election Commissioner has a budget and some form of accounting exists.

No, I want to know how much each of the two main candidates spent and where that funding came from. I've read, unsubstantiated claims that its million and even billions... so, where is it from?

There is a motive in asking this seemingly naive question - on the day of the election, 60 patients at the Nephrology unit in Kandy were faced with the possibility of being turned away due to the lack of 'disposable diacap dialyzers', each one apparently costing the princely sum of Rs 1500/-, so for the want of Rs 90,000 in the backdrop of this election when unimaginable sums of money were being sent on posters, hoardings, tv and radio ads, breakfast, lunch and dinners and what not!

On a related but different platform I read that our cabinet costs a whooping 4 billion rupees annually - their 'official' perks include 2 official and one security vehicle, an incentive for participating for a parliamentary session AND another participating for a select committee, monnthly rental allowance for each minister who is not provided with an official residence in Colombo, fue, official and pesonal mobile 'incentives', unlimited amount of idd and local calls from the ministry official telephone, 3 computers and unlimited Internet access, 4 secretaries for media, personal, coordinating, and public relations.

(If anyone can correct my figures, please do by all means, they are mere numbers I've picked up from here and there and would be happy to have the correct numbers)

Just where does this money come, I mean the campaign funds? Business interests are one source I presume, the rest personal wealth, running into the billions?

And 60 people go home for the lack of funds...