MULLAITIVU, 12 April 2010 (IRIN) - Voters in conflict-affected northern Sri Lanka failed to turn out in great numbers for parliamentary elections last week, with many citing dissatisfaction with their own plight since returning to their homes after months of displacement.

"Why should we vote?” asked Koneshwaran Bala, a recent Tamil returnee to the town Oddusudan in Mullaitivu District.

“As a community, we do not have leaders. There is no leader at the national level that talks about our sad state. I am not bothered at all to vote,” the 57-year-old said.

"I do not have a house with a proper roof to sleep under. There were promises given by various parties for months. I do not believe in them. I have no trust in what others can do for me - especially the government. I will survive on my own,” added 48-year-old Arul Elangovan, also from Oddusudan.

About 55 percent of Sri Lanka’s 14 million registered voters cast their ballots on 8 April in the first parliamentary elections since the government declared victory over the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), who had fought for a Tamil homeland for over two decades.

Voter turnout in Mullaitivu and Kilinochchi districts - comprised largely of resettled internally displaced persons (IDPs) - fell below 17 percent, the Sri Lankan Election Commission reported.

Of 68,729 registered voters in Mullaitivu, just 11,362 (16.53 percent) cast their votes, while in Kilinochchi, 11,019 of 90,811 registered voters, (12.13 percent) went to the polls.

Confusion

Photo: Udara Soysa/IRIN

A road outside Oddusudan. Lack of transport prevented many from voting

But dissatisfaction was just part of the problem. In addition to outdated voter registration lists, many were denied their right to vote altogether, election observers said.

“There was more than one reason,” Keerthi Thenakoon, executive director of the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE), a national election monitoring body, told IRIN.

Many IDPs still in camps in the north were told they did not have the right documentation for voting. Moreover, election officials were unable to give the IDPs clear directions about what to do when their camp identification was not accepted, said Thenakoon.

As a result, there was mass confusion among IDP voters about where they could vote - the IDP camp, newly-resettled areas or their district of residence, the Colombo-based group said.

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As an election observing and monitoring organization accredited by the Election Commissioner, the Campaign For Free & Fair Elections (CaFFE) observed and monitored the North Central and Sabaragamuva Provincial Council Elections from June 24 to September 1, 2008. This Report is compiled with the aim of presenting the observations CaFFE made during its monitoring.

Compared to the scale of violence we witnessed during the Pre Election period there was a low level of violence on the day of the North Central and Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council Elections. This did not happen automatically. We believe that the response of the people against violence and the manner in which various sections of the community reacted to the atrocious pre-election situation created a situation which prevented violence and violations. We observe that this situation did not arise due to the good behaviour of the candidates representing the government or other political parties. Today, we have seen the victory of people who actively intervened, resisted and expressed their desire to end election violence. Even the actions of people outside the two provinces have partially contributed to this achievement.

As an election observing and monitoring organization recognized by the Commissioner of
Elections the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) has been observing and
monitoring the Pre Election period of the North Central and Sabaragamuwa Provincial
elections from the 24th of June 2008 until the 19th of August 2008. This report has been
prepared with the aim of presenting the pre election monitoring observations that CaFFE hasmade during these days of operation.

Eastern Provincial Council Elections of 10th May 2008:
Monitoring Report:
As an election observing and monitoring organization accredited under the Election Commissioner, the Campaign For Free & Fair Elections (CaFFE) has been observing and monitoring the Eastern Province from the 5th of April  until the 10th of May 2008. This Report has been prepared with the aim of presenting the monitoring observations that CaFFE had  made during  these days of operation.

As an election observing and monitoring organization accredited under the Election Commissioner, the Campaign For Free & Fair Elections (CaFFE) has been observing and monitoring the Eastern Province from the 5th of April until the 10th of May 2008. This Report has been prepared with the aim of presenting the monitoring observations that CaFFE had made during these days of operation.

The Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) observes that the Eastern Provincial election, which was held today, was not at all ‘free and fair’. This is due to the reason that it very clearly shown that dominance of rule of law had been overtaken by a dominance of violence.