A provincial correspondent of Daily Mirror has lodged a complaint with the Ampara police yesterday asserting that he was threatened over the phone by Rear Admiral (Rtd) Sarath Weerasekera, the former Director of the Civil Defence Force. The correspondent, Wasantha Chandrapala had contacted the Rear Admiral to get his comments regarding an incident in Ampara when the latter had allegedly threatened him.
However, when contacted by Daily Mirror online Rear Admiral Weerasekera denied that he had threatened the journalist and instead accused the scribe of attempting to create disharmony among the communities.
He further asserted that Chandrapala was a person who made life hard for others and that he was involved in printing posters and leaflets that were defamatory.
Moreover, Rear Admiral Weerasekera said that he had conducted an exemplary election campaign and had no need to threaten the reporter.
Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha thero yesterday accused the government and the Election Commissioner of not taking action to curb election malpractices. Although there were cut-outs and posters in unauthorised places, the police had not removed those belonging to the ruling party candidates.
State property had been placed at the disposal of UPFA candidates, the thero said at a media conference held at Sri Lanka Foundation Institute by Inter-Faith Coalition for the Prevention of Election Conflicts. He said that it was the bounden duty of any government to abide by the election laws to conduct free and fair election. But, the contestants of the ruling party had been a law unto themselves.
The thero added that the Constitution promulgated by the late President J. R. Jayewardene in 1978 had been the cause of all the trouble. The President had unlimited powers and he was not answerable even to the Supreme Court, he said. (Red More)
President Mahinda Rajapaksa, fresh from a landslide re-election in January, has said he expects his United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) to get two-thirds of the 225-seat legislature at Thursday's polls.
That would give him the votes to change the constitution to his liking, a situation which produced the 1978 charter under former President J.R. Jayawardene that many view as flawed in terms of social equality and distribution of powers.
Rajapaksa's alliance looks assured of victory, riding high on momentum from his win in January, his defeat of the Tamil Tiger separatists in May last year and an economy resurgent since the end of the 25-year civil war.
On Monday, the central bank forecast 2010 economic growth of 6.5 percent, rebounding sharply from an eight-year low of 3.5 percent in 2009. Rajapaksa says economic revival is central to his plans for reconciling a country divided by ethnic strife and inequity. (Read More)
The hectic 39 day general election campaign marred not by inter-party violence as usual but by home and home rivalry comes to an end at 12.00 midnight today, amidst police warnings that strict legal action will be taken against individuals who possess illegal fire arms.
“Strict legal action will be taken against individuals who possess illegal fire arms. The police have already commenced investigations to probe such allegations and arrest the suspects,” Head of the Police Elections Desk DIG Gamini Navaratne said.
The Police Elections Desk has so far received 274 complaints related to election violence and in regard 244 suspects has been arrested for violating the elections law, head of the police elections desk senior DIG Navaratne said.
“We are seeking the help of each candidate in order to arrest nearly 200 individuals who are wanted by the police for violating the elections law”, he said.
Speaking about the removal of election propaganda material that violates election law he said it is steadily progressing and nearly half of the propaganda materials have been already been removed.(Read More)
Deputy Mayor of the UPFA controlled Ampara Urban Council Saman Morayas and a few others were injured during a clash between the supporters of UPFA Candidate for the Digamadulla district Ferial Ashraff and Sarath Weerasekara in the Ampara town yesterday.
Mr. Morayas was rushed to the Ampara hospital after the incident. According to hospital sources, he had developed breathing problems after the assault on him.
Land Minister of the Eastern Provincial Council Wimalaweera Dissanayake who was an eyewitness to the incident told Daily Mirror that a businessman and a medical doctor were among the injured.
“I was informed about this incident. Then, I rushed to the scene. The angry supporters surrounded my vehicle and tried to manhandle me. If not for my security personnel, they would have assaulted me,” Mr. Dissanayake said.
He expressed fears whether the situation would take a turn for the worse within the next couple of days ahead of the election.
During the past few weeks, intra-party violence has escalated in the Digamadulla District.
Meanwhile, the People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) said that the Thambuttegama residence of JVP candidate for the Anuradhapura District Wasantha Samarasinghe and the party’s Matara office had been attacked on Sunday night.
The Program for Protection of Public Resources (PPPR) conducted by the Sri Lanka chapter of Transparency International said yesterday that it had received 200 complaints on the abuse of public resources during the General Election campaign.
The complaints received related to the abuse of government funds, vehicles and buses, buildings and utilities, media institutions and public officials for electioneering. The PPPR had also recorded a sudden increase of complaints which highlighted the increased level of abuse of public resources as the date of election neared.
The PPPR said that, although they had highlighted the abuse of public resources for election propaganda work in their reports, the authorities had failed to take notice of the abuse highlighted by the PPPR, and there had been a significant increase in the level of abuse. “Therefore, it’s doubtful as to whether this election can be considered as a ‘free and fair’ election when taking into account the level of abuse of public resources at the Parliamentary Election 2010,” the report said. (read more)
Three persons were admitted to hospital yesterday afternoon following a clash between supporters of UPFA Kurunegala district candidate Johnston Fernando and a group led by the chairman of the Maho Pradeshiya Sabha who is also a UPFA member.
The incident took place in Maho near the residence of the Pradeshiya Sabha chairman. Chairman Pushpakumara and his driver were among the injured and were admitted to the Kurunegala Teaching Hospital.
The reason for the clash was an argument between the supporters of Mr. Fernando, who were involved in election canvassing, and the Pradeshiya Sabha chairman. The three persons had been injured by being attacked with a wooden pole.
A young supporter of the UPFA died in a shooting incident in Kurunegala last night (Apr. 04), police said.
The victim was travelling in a cab, along with several others, when gunmen in another cab blocked the path and opened fire at them at Mawathagama around 11.30 pm.
The driver of the stricken cab had driven the vehicle straight to the nearest police station, where the youth was found dead.
The victim, in his twenties, has been identified as a resident of Rambadagalla area.
They had been returning from a campaign tour for the upcoming parliamentary polls.
According to police, the murder weapon was a T-56 rifle.
Meanwhile, supporters of two UPFA candidates clashed in Mahawa, Kurunegala, leaving three people seriously injured.
Police yesterday moved to strengthen security in seven districts where intra-party violence is on the rise. The districts are Anuradhapura, Matara, Badulla, Nuwara Eliya, Gampaha, Kandy and Puttalam.
The move came as 59,000 policemen and 20,000 troops were deployed countrywide for Thursday’s polls.
The police have so far received about 265 complaints and nearly 200 people have been arrested for allegedly flouting election laws. The police are searching for 160 suspects who are said to have broken election laws and are evading arrest. (Read More)
A total of 45,962 displaced persons will be able to cast their vote in the Jaffna, Wanni, Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Digamadulla electoral divisions, despite the shortage of voting facilities in these areas in the North.
The list of names of the displaced persons is on display at the Puttalam, Batticaloa Mannar and Vavuniya election offices; all divisional secretariats in Puttalam district; Menik Farm and IDP camps in Vavuniya, Polonnaruwa and Jaffna; and the Jaffna district and Trincomalee district elections offices.
Voters who are residents of the Oddusuddan, Pudhukudiyirippu and Weralabadapaththu divisional secretariats can cast their vote at the Vavuniya Tamil Maha Vidyalaya. They can collect their polling cards from the Vavuniya post office.
According to the Election Commissioner, the department has received applications from displaced persons at nine IDP camps in Vavuniya and two IDP camps in Jaffna. Aravithottam Sivananda Vidyalaya will be the polling centre for these displaced persons.
Those temporarily housed in Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Kalutara, Colombo, Gampaha and Kurunegala will be able to vote at the district polling centres.
Meanwhile, transport arrangements have been made for voters living in camps in Vavuniya and for those who have to travel from Vavuniya to Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu.
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