Postal voting ‘Incident free’
DailyMirror.lk:
An Elections Department source said that the yesterday’s postal voting for the March 17 local government elections began yesterday, and voting took place at security forces’ camps, SLTB depots, Divisional and District Secretariat offices, government departments and other state establishments. “Postal voting will be held at 5,000 state and semi-state institutions such as SLTB depots, army camps, educational offices and district and divisional secretariats” he said.
Some 321,600 public servants and security forces personnel were eligible to vote by post.
Meanwhile, Rohana Hettiarachchi, executive director of PAFFREL said his organisation had deployed about 300 monitors — mainly at police stations, SLTB depots and hospitals — to monitor the two day postal voting.
To yesterday PAFFREL had received over 200 complaints of elections related violence, Mr. Hettiarachchi said.
Misdeeds during postal voting: UNP
The main opposition UNP yesterday complained to Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake regarding several incidents that had taken place in some areas during the postal voting of the local government elections which began yesterday. UNP General Secretary Tissa Attanayake told a news conference that in some areas its party agents were not allowed to enter locations where the marking of postal votes were taking place.
The Daily Mirror learns that the UNP polling agent had not been allowed in the Pallekelle army camp postal voting centre while another incident had taken place in the Yatiyantota Pradeshiya Sabha area.Mr. Attanayake said the party had officially informed the Commissioner of Elections about the situation.
He said the turnout had been low for postal voting yesterday and vowed to closely monitor the situation today as well.