Pre-poll observers here this week

The pre-poll observers of the international election observer missions will start arriving in the country by this week, a spokesperson for the Elections Department said.

The EU, Commonwealth and FEMBoSA, (Federation of Elections Monitoring Bodies of South Asia) will undertake observer missions here during the August 17 general election at the invitation of Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya.

The European Union said that their deployment will be headed by Member of the European Parliament Cristian Preda.

The EU team will consist of a Core Team of eight election analysts, and 18 Long-Term Observers, who will be deployed to all Sri Lankan Provinces, and 28 Short-Term Observers deployed shortly before Election Day.

Shortly after Election Day, the mission will issue a preliminary statement of its findings at a press conference in Colombo. A final report with recommendations for future electoral processes, will be presented at a later stage, a statement by the EU Colombo office said.

The 30-member FEMBoSA team sponsored by the government will arrive one week ahead of the election day.

The Commonwealth and the EU teams will be funded by their respective offices.