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Probe over misplaced polling cards |
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2010-01-21 |
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An investigation has been launched over misplaced polling cards following complaints that several voters have not received their cards, the Postal Department said.
Deputy Postmaster General (Operations) R. D. P. Gamini speaking to Daily Mirror online said that an investigation was launched to find out how the cards were misplaced and new polling cards will be issued for the voters who have not received their polling cards due to their misplacement by postal officials.
He said that 247 cards have been misplaced in Kamburupitiya while 26 have been misplaced in Kotahena. He added that the Election Commission had been notified and that the new cards will be issued accordingly.
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This is one of the saddest days in Sri Lanka s election history |
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2010-01-20 |
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The Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake at a meeting today (19) with the political party secretaries and representatives said, as the State media are not abiding by his orders, and undue pressures are being brought on the competent authority appointed by him, he had relieved the competent authority of his duties with effect from midnight yesterday (18).
The Elections Commissioner said that he is in utter disgust as the State media had totally disregarded the competent authority. Referring to the latest announcements by the Commissioner of Elections, the national organiser of the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) Keerthi Tennakoon aptly said, “This is one of the saddest days in Sri Lanka’s election history.”
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Shootings target opposition activists |
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2010-01-20 |
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Separate shooting incidents in Akkarapattu and Hambantota this morning (Jan. 19) have left three opposition supporters hospitalized with injuries, hospital sources said.
In Akkarapattu, the wounded is an activist of SLMC, who had come under attack around 3.00 am at the home of a friend of his down Cinema Hall Road.
His both legs have been hurt in the shooting.
In Tissamaharama, a group returning from a meeting held in support of Gen. Sarath Fonseak was shot at.
And, one of them has suffered injuries to an ear and the other to the back of his right knee.
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Election fears rise on increased violence |
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2010-01-20 |
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Concerns are rising that Sri Lanka’s presidential election will be undermined after the deaths of four people in a spate of campaign-related violence in the past week, say election monitors. The incumbent, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, is facing an unexpectedly strong challenge from his former army chief, Sarath Fonseka, raising tensions among supporters of both men ahead of the 26 January poll. Election monitors warn that if clashes between rival political factions are not stemmed, violence could be a key factor in the first national election to be held after the end of the 26-year civil war last May. “The slide towards more violence is really bad,” Keerthi Thenakoon, the executive director of Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE), a national election monitoring body, told IRIN. "Ordinary people don’t want to get hurt casting a vote. They would think, ‘Why should I get killed?’ and if thousands begin to feel like that, their choice will not be reflected in the final result," said Thenakoon. (Read More)  |
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Widespread campaign violence |
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2010-01-20 |
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The January 26 presidential election in Sri Lanka has been marked by a large number of violent incidents, most of which have been linked to supporters of the incumbent—President Mahinda Rajapakse. The first death occurred on January 12 at Hungama in the district of Hambantota—Rajapakse’s home area. A gunman opened fire on a bus carrying people to a rally for the main opposition candidate General Sarath Fonseka. A woman was killed and 10 people were injured. The attack is likely to have been carried out by pro-government thugs. According to the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV), the attackers shot at the tyres of the bus before opening fire on its rear windows and the passengers inside. The manner of the attack indicates it had been well planned. The following day, several people were injured, including local BBC correspondent Thakshila Dilrukshi Jayasena, in clashes between thousands of supporters of Fonseka and Rajapakse at Polonnaruwa in North-Central province. The opposition accused the government of deliberately organising a march to counter its protest against government election violence. (Read More) |
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Be impartial: UNP to public servants |
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2010-01-20 |
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UNP Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya yesterday called on public servants, members of the armed forces and the police to remain impartial and unbowed to the political pressures faced by them on a daily basis. “We wish to make this special appeal to all patriotic public servants of our country as we reach this crucial juncture in our country’s destination. We are well aware of the calibre and integrity of our public service. Unfortunately due to the actions of a few politically motivated, corrupt officers the whole public service and the Police Department in particular have been brought into disrepute,” Mr. Jayasuriya said. Mr. Jayasuriya in a statement said: “The current election campaign has also strained the public service to its limits with enormous pressure being exerted upon civil servants to support the incumbent in his desperate efforts to remain in power. (Read More) |
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Two injured in polls related shooting |
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2010-01-20 |
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Two people were seriously injured and hospitalised when an unknown gang opened fire on a group of people returning home after attending a rally in support of Presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka in Tissamaharama on Monday night. The injured were admitted to the Hambantota Hospital. Tissamaharama Police are conducting investigations. |
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North free of poll violence. Campaigning at low ebb |
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2010-01-20 |
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According to the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE), the Northern Province has been the most peaceful province in the run-up to the Presidential election so far. CaFFE said that not a single election related act of violence has been reported from the area, and that there have only been a very few number of complaints regarding unlawful publicity and promotion. Almost 65% of eligible voters in the Northern Province are without a valid National Identity Card (NIC). Therefore, the government had started a programme where they issue temporary ID cards. However, according to CaFFE very few people have actually obtained these temporary IDs. CaFFE also reported that it had found large numbers of polling cards lying around in sub post offices. The organisation says that the lack of political campaigning in the North even by major Tamil political parties might have caused people to be apathetic towards the Presidential election. CaFFE reports that some people will have to travel between 2 to 36 kilometres to find a polling station, even though several stations have been set up around the Province. Furthermore, CaFFE says that most people who have recently been resettled will not vote at the upcoming election because of several reasons: Being settled far away from their registered places, lack of awareness on how to proceed to be eligible, reluctance to go back to camps where some of the polling stations are located. |
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Supporter of Gen. Fonseka beaten to death |
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2010-01-19 |
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A supporter of Gen. Sarath Fonseka was beaten to death in Wariyapola in the early hours of this morning (Jan. 18).
This killing has brought the number of deaths due to poll-related violence to three.
The victim has been identified as 33-year-old Dhammika Herath, a businessman of
Wariyapola. He was a father of two.
Dhammika was among a group pasting posters in support of the common opposition's presidential candidate that came under attack by rival activists who had come in motorcycles.
He had been attacked with clubs and sharp instruments. Police have arrested five persons in connection with the killing. The first two election related deaths were reported from Tangalle and Puttalam.
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only 32% polling cards issued |
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2010-01-19 |
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The postal authorities have been able to deliver only 32 percent of poll cards in the Jaffna district since many registered voters have either migrated or been displaced due to the war during the past few decades, election officials said yesterday. The same problem arose at the Jaffna Municipal Council election held last August with only around 50,000 poll cards delivered to voters out of the total of 105,000 registered within the municipal limits. Jaffna Assistant Elections Commissioner P. Kuganathan told the Daily Mirror that there were 721,359 registered voters in the eleven electorates of the district.
Mr. Kuganathan said as at January 16, only 230,761 poll cards had been delivered to voters through the post offices in the district. (Read More)
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