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| Sunday, 29 August 2004 |
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Elections Commissioner unable to make ID obligatory by Jayantha Sri Nissanka Plans to make identity cards compulsory at elections seems to be getting delayed as Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake has said that even if a law is passed, he will not be able to implement it until he is satisfied that every citizen of the country has received an identity card or alternative document to cast votes without any hindrance. According to his estimates, about 30 per cent of the population specially people in the Upcountry and the North and East do not possess identity cards. The Elections Commissioner and Commissioner Registration of Persons Department met representatives of the UNP last Friday to discuss proposed amendments to the election laws, Election Department sources said. Dissanayake is scheduled to meet Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse and leaders of political parties in Parliament on September 2 to further discuss the issue. Commissioner of the Registration of Persons Department has said that even if the Government gives him all the facilities to issue identity cards, he needs at least seven to eight months to complete the task. The Elections Commissioner has said that he needs at least one year to implement the plan as he has to include identity card numbers in election lists and other documents. UNP representatives Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya, Secretary General N. K. Weragoda, Deputy Secretary General Tissa Attanayake and Secretary Legal Affairs Daya Palpola have pointed out the alternatives the Commissioner can take if someone forcibly collects identity cards of people to prevent them from voting as it has happened in the past. They have also pointed out that identity cards of some people in the South are also not clear and that some are very old.3 |
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