COLOMBO: Sri Lanka’s presidential polls takes place Tuesday amid tight security following spate of violence and election violations in all parts of the island.
Some 200,000 government officers including 68,000 police officers will man the important places related to the elections.
President Mahinda Rajapaksa decided to hold the election two years ahead of schedule in an apparent attempt to capitalize on his military victory over the Tamil rebels in May last year.
Although 22 candidates submitted their nominations for the polls, the chief contenders for today’s election will include incumbent president Rajapaksa and his former army chief General Fonseka, who comes out as a formidable candidate against Rajapaksa, who would have otherwise enjoyed an easy victory .
The Election Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayaka requested the voters to go to the polling station early morning tomorrow and cast their ballots and not to resort to any violent or destructive acts.
The election department dispatched ballot boxes and officials to over 11,000 polling stations in 22 electoral districts yesterday.
G. A. J. Sylvester, the chief election official for the capital Colombo said that 1026 polling stations would be operational in the capital district. The 18-inch ballot paper is the lengthiest ballot paper ever given to the Sri Lankan voters in the annals of the island’s politics. There are 22 names in the list which included three Muslims, one Tamil and a Buddhist monk.
Some 14 million people are expected to vote between 7 a.m. and 4 p.m. local time (0130 to 1030 GMT) at Tuesday’s poll.
Meanwhile, the independent watch group, CMEV or the Center for Monitoring Election Violence said that they were concerned that the integrity of the election process was seriously damaged in the run-up to the election.
Election monitoring groups reported widespread political violence and coercion ahead of Tuesday’s presidential elections in Sri Lanka. The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) on Monday condemned poll-related violence that has broken out in several parts of the country. “The blatant violation of election laws is visible everywhere,” Dr. Pakiyasothy Sarvanamuttu, a co-convenor of the CMEV said.
He appealed election officials and police to fulfill their duty “without fear or favor” on election day. “It is the responsibility of all citizens, civic groups and those who value democracy to strengthen the rule of law and help democracy prosper,” Saravanamuttu said.
A journalist attached to the Lanka news website was reported missing since Sunday night.
Prageeth Eknaligoda was on his way home from work late last night at the time he went missing.
A Buddhist temple was attacked early Monday in the Ambalangoda area, 90 kilometers south of the capital, after the monk invoked blessings on presidential candidate General Sarath Fonseka.
A total of 900 violent incidents have been reported since the candidates were first nominated on Dec. 17. Clashes between rival supporters, attacks on party offices and voter intimidation have left at least five dead.
The CMEV plans to deploy more than 3,500 monitors throughout the country Tuesday.They would be among some 20,000 monitors contributed by various local and foreign organizations.
Two other groups — the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections and the People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections — also expressed concern about irregularities in the campaign.
