Over 55 percent voter turnout:

PC polls peaceful

by Ranil Wijayapala and Manjula Fernando

Voting in the Northern, Central and North Western Provincial Councils was peaceful in all 10 districts with over 55 percent voter turnout in almost all the districts especially in the Northern Province where people voted for the first time to elect members to the Provincial Council, officials of the Elections Department and elections monitors said yesterday.

The Elections Department issued the first official election result around 8.30 p.m. yesterday after commencing counting at 5 pm, at the counting centres issuing results of the postal vote of the Mullaitivu district.

According to election observers, elections in the North were conducted in a peaceful environment as the local and the international community focused attention on the Northern PC elections.

Despite the low turnout reported in the early hours of yesterday after voting commenced at 7 am, the voter turnout in almost all districts increased by noon and more than 55 per cent voter turnout was reported in almost all the districts at the end of voting at 4 pm yesterday.

Elections Commissioner, Mahinda Deshapriya expressed satisfaction over the conduct of the election as no major election-related incidents were reported yesterday.

“As a whole the polls were conducted in a peaceful manner despite a considerable number of complaints received by the Elections Department yesterday”, the Commissioner added. “I am happy that we could conclude the elections without any incident causing any deaths or injuries to the people”, Deshapriya added.

The Commissioner said that the highest voter turnout was reported from the Mannar district with over 75 percent voter turnout while the lowest voter turnout was reported from the Puttalam district with 50 to 55 percent voter turnout.

District Returning Officers said that people cast their vote in a peaceful atmosphere, despite minor incidents which were reported in some districts, as there was tight security in all polling stations.

According to the District Returning Officer, Kandy, Gamini Seneviratne, a 60 percent voter turnout was reported in the district as elections were conducted in a relatively peaceful atmosphere. Asked whether the incident reported in Kelebokka in Kandy made any impact on the elections the District Returning Officer said more than 90 percent of that polling station have cast their votes at the time of the incident.

The District Returning Officer of Matale, Helen Meegasmulla also said that a 61 percent voter turnout was reported in the Matale district.

According to the Nuwara Eliya District Returning Officer, D.P.G. Kumarasiri more than 65 percent voter turnout was reported in the Nuwara Eliya district where polls were conducted in a peaceful manner.

The District Returning Officer in Kilinochchi, R. Ketheeswaran said 68 percent of the registered voters in the district cast their vote from 7 am to 4 pm yesterday. She said people cast their votes with enthusiasm with no major incidents reported in the district.

According to elections officials and monitors around 65 percent voter turnout in Vavuniya, a 70 per cent voter turnout in Mannar, 71 percent voter turnout in Mullaitivu and 60 per cent voter turn out in Jaffna district were reported in the Northern Province.

More than 55 percent voter turnout was reported in Kurunegala and Puttalam districts in the North Western Province.

People’s Action for Free and Fair Election (PAFFREL) said they had received 107 complaints from all three provinces including the Northern Province upto 7 pm yesterday.

Among the major incidents, reported was a case of intimidation in Jaffna, an assault in Wennapuwa in the North Western Province where two people were hospitalised, another assault incident in Kelebokka in Kandy where around eight people were injured at a polling station and another incident where a Deputy Mayor of Gampola was assaulted.

All other complaints were minor incidents such as providing transport to voters by supporters and illegal campaigning around polling booths.

PAFFREL deployed the largest team of election monitors to cover the PC elections in the three provinces yesterday. They were among the two local organisations which were given permission to deploy static observers within the polling stations. The other was the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV).

Keerthi Tennakoon of the CAFFE said 84 incidents were reported on elections day and fire arms were used in three incidents.

In addition, four monitors representing the Commonwealth of Nations and 20 polls monitors representing the SAARC region are here on the invitation of the Elections Commissioner.

This is the first time in the history of the Provincial Council system that foreign monitors were deployed at a PC election.

Independent observers in the Northern Province said the voting had been calm and peaceful in Jaffna and there was no military presence. Tight security was maintained at Central College, Jaffna, one of the counting centres in the district.

The counting was to be conducted in 198 counting halls in the Central, 82 in the North and 197 in the North Western Province.