DailyMirror
Over 112 Independent Groups had paid their deposits for contesting in the 22 districts and 10 independent groups had handed in their nominations in six districts for the upcoming Parliamentary elections to be held in April.
A senior elections secretariat official yesterday said that the Janasetha Peramuna had handed in nominations in seven districts; Jathika Sanwardana Peramuna in three districts; Sinhale Maha Sammatha Bhoomi Puthra Paksaya in three districts by; Okkoma Wesio Okkoma Rajawaru in two districts and the Kamkaru Paksaya in one district.
He also stated that the Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayaka will lay down tough strictures if the state media does not follow his guidelines, a senior elections secretariat official said yesterday.
“He is monitoring the programmes telecast over the state-owned electronic media and will take a decision on the appointment of a Competent Authority if his instructions are not followed,” the official said.
Meanwhile, PAFFREL Executive Director Rohana Hettiiaarachchi said that Election monitoring groups — PAFFREL, CaFFE and the CMEV will monitor the elections with a contingent of 15,000 observers.
“PAFFREL will obtain the services of foreign monitors from the Asian Network for Free and Fair Elections (ANFFE),” he said