Island.lk:
The Elections Department has dispatched its own monitors to areas identified as being vulnerable to malpractices, to monitor the marking of postal votes as 55,871 postal voters cast their ballot for 65 local bodies in 21 districts today, Commissioner of Elections Mahinda Deshapriya disclosed yesterday.
He said that permission had also been granted to election monitoring bodies like PAFFREL and the CMEV, as well as representatives of contesting political parties to monitor the marking of postal votes.
The Executive Director of PAFFREL Rohana Hettiarachchi said that 2,630,985 voters were eligible to cast their votes at 2,226 Polling Centers for a total of 5688 candidates contesting these 65 local councils on July 23 and in the run up they had now decided to monitor the postal voting for any irregularities.
The additional Commissioner of Elections (Provincial and Local ) W. P. Sumananasiri said that the local elections to one Municipal Council, nine Urban Councils and 55 Pradeshiya Sabhas were being held according to the Electoral Register for 2010.
A retired senior Elections Secretariat Commissioner and Commissioner of Registration of Persons A. G. Dharmadasa who is now serving as a consultant to the Election Secretariat said that the according to complaints received so far by the Secretariat Polgahawela, Homagama, Kaduwela, Warakapola and Attanagalla were areas prone to violence.
Retired senior SLAS official Bandula Kulatunga who is also a consultant to the Elections Secretariat said that the government had made special legal provision for voters with disability to be accompanied by a person to assist in marking the ballot paper at the Polling station.
Kulatunga said that provision had been made for such in section 54 (2) of the principal act by Elections (Special Provisions) Act no9 28 of 2011 and applications should be sent through the respective Grama niladharis before the July15.