 |
Rosie raps polls chief |
| |
2010-03-10 |
| |
Colombo district UNF candidate Rosie Senanayake said the opposition had lost faith in Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake. She alleged that the Commissioner had made conflicting statements when he announced the results of the January 26 Presidential election. Rosia Senanayake, who is also the opposition leader of the Western Provincial Council, said that she is not "fighting" for preferential votes as Colombo District voters know that she stands for the truth, freedom, democracy, dignity of women and against corruption and bribery. "There must be at least 25 percent of women represented in Parliament. How can 4 percent of women be heard among 96 per cent of men. There should be more women involved in politics at all level," Mrs. Senanayake said. (Read More) |
| |
|
|
Polls chief tells Parties to apply for air time |
| |
2010-03-09 |
| |
Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dissanayake has asked secretaries of political parties and leaders of independent groups, contesting the forthcoming parliamentary elections, to apply before March 12 to the Chairmen of the Rupavahini Corporation and SLBC requesting air time.
In allocating air time, the number of electoral districts being contested and the number of candidates would be taken into consideration. The Commissioner said that a party or a group that contests in one district would be allotted 30 minutes, those contesting 2 to 13 districts with 129 candidates would be given 60 minutes and where the districts are 14 with over 130 candidates, 90 minutes would be allocated. (Read More)
|
| |
|
|
Displaced seek chance to vote |
| |
2010-03-06 |
| |
The Elections Secretariat says that 50,000 persons have requested permission to cast their votes at polling booths away from their areas of residence. A Senior spokesman said it showed an increase of more than 5,000 persons who applied to vote at the presidential election.
He said that the applications had come from those who now live in camps in Putlam, Anuradhapura, Kurunegala, Gampaha, Kalutara, Mannar, Vavuniya and other places away from their regions. The deadline provided for this category expired on 26th February.
The officer told reporters those applications were now being considered now and the relevant polling booths would be announced shortly.
He added displaced persons who made applications without Grama Niladhari’s certificates would be rejected.
|
| |
|
|
Election chief cuts down party offices |
| |
2010-03-05 |
| |
Elections Chief had decided to limit the number of election coordination offices set up by the political parties for the up coming general election in April this year. Accordingly a candidate would be allowed to set up only one Central Office for each District and one for each electorate, sources said while the office could be used only till mid night of the Election Day. The Branch Offices would be permitted to use only till midnight of 06th April, sources said. However according to sources each candidate would be allowed to have an office in their residence and such an office is permitted to be used between the Midnight of 06th April to Midnight of 8th April. The rule which says no election campaign office should be located within 500 meters from a Polling Booth, will be severely enforced, the sources added. The Elections Department on Sunday ordered the removal of all cut-outs, banners and posters in connection with the forthcoming parliamentary election to be held on April 8. (Read More)  |
| |
|
|
Petition against State media coverage |
| |
2010-03-04 |
| |
A fundamental rights violation petition was filed against the Sri Lanka Rupavahini Corporation (SLRC) and the Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation (SLBC) for the alleged abuses of State resources and partisan use of State media resulting in the violation of the people’s sovereignty in the recently held Presidential election. Priyanthi Subhashinie Perera, Helen Joanna Beryl Gray and Deborah Marianne Philip in their petition cited the Rupavahini Corporation, its Chairman Prof. Ariyaratne Athugala, its Chief Executive Officer Karunaratne Paranavithana, Sri Lanka Broadcasting Corporation Chairman Hudson Samarasinghe, Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake and the Attorney General as respondents. The petition stated that the 2nd respondent Karunaratne Paranavithana and the 4th respondent Hudson Samarasinghe were SLFP organizers for Ratnapura district and Colombo West respectively. (Read More) |
| |
|
|
Postal voting on March 25 and 26 |
| |
2010-03-03 |
| |
The Election Commissioner of Sri Lanka announced today that the postal voting of the 2010 general election will take place on March 25 and 26 to allow the public employees that are to be utilized in election duties to exercise their franchise. The polling centers for the postal voters will be arranged in government offices as usual. The sealed packets of ballot papers are to be delivered to the polling centers via mail. The Elections Secretariat said it will deploy 300,000 public sector employees for election duty in the forthcoming general election, 50,000 more than the number utilized for poll duties during the presidential election. Meanwhile, the Elections Department has planned a survey on the number of ballot boxes available in all District Secretariats. The Department wishes to order new ballot boxes to cater to the need following this survey. (Read More) |
| |
|
|
Religious leaders push for free and fair poll |
| |
2010-03-03 |
| |
Expressing fears that the upcoming general elections would not be a free and fair one, the Congress of Religions comprising leaders of major religions in the country yesterday called on all political party leaders not to allow its candidates to engage in violence and character assassination. The Congress stressed on the need to allow Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake to carry out the powers vested in him under the Elections Act to ensure a legitimate poll. Congress General Secretary Ven. Ittapane Dhammalankara Thera told a news conference yesterday they feared the election would not be a free and fair one considering certain incidents that were taking place today. The Ven. Thera said the Congress of Religions was not in favour of the clergy coming into politics and using places of religious worship for political purposes. “Do not use religious places for political purposes,” he told all political parties. (Read More) |
| |
|
|
Election Commissioner orders to remove all election displays |
| |
2010-03-02 |
| |
The Election Commissioner Dayananda Dishanayake through Divisional Secretaries has informed all the political parties to remove all the propaganda material in accordance with the election laws. All cutouts, banners, posters and other election displays are to be removed by today (March 01), the Election Commissioner has ordered. The Election Department and the police have taken steps to remove all the displays, the Commissioner has informed the parties. Earlier the DIG for elections Gamini Navaratne suggested the political parties to print leaflets and distribute to voters instead of putting up displays that had to be taken down by the police spending tax payer's money. (Read More) |
| |
|
|
Too many Ind. Groups a problem for Polls chief |
| |
2010-03-02 |
| |
Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dissanayake was strongly of the opinion that some remedial action needed to be taken to curb the increasing number of Independent Groups entering the fray as this has caused unnecessary problems for the Elections Department and a greater burden on the public purse, Elections Secretariat sources said yesterday. The Ballot Paper for the Digamadulla District would have to be four feet long. The Assistant Commissioner of Elections for the Batticaloa District T. Krishnandalingham said that the second highest number of nominations, 360 candidates from 17 Political Parties and Independent Groups, were in the fray to elect 05 members to Parliament. Even during the last Presidential Elections the Commissioner expressed strong sentiments that action was needed to prevent dummy candidates being planted as Independents by some of the main Political Parties to increase the number of Polling, Counting Agents and obtain extra airtime on the State media to put forward their views.(Read More) |
| |
|
|
Candidates reluctant to declare assets |
| |
2010-03-01 |
| |
Election monitors said that the candidates of respective political parties and independent groups were not keen on declaration of their assets to the Elections Commissioner in the run up to the parliamentary election. According to the law, candidates are required to declare their assets within three months after handing over nominations to contest the election. Spokesman for the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) Keerthi Tennakoon told Daily Mirror that so far only 11 candidates including UPFA Gampaha district leader Basil Rajapaksa had declared “The law has given them a three-month period. However, we know according to past experiences that candidates do not care for this law. Most of them do not declare their assets,” Mr. Tennakoon said. The People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) said that Sri Lanka didn’t have strong laws in regard to the declaration of assets by candidates. (Read More) |
| |
|
|
| |
|
