September 29 and 30 are the days set apart for postal voting for the October 8 local council polls, Elections Secretariat said today. Deputy Elections Commissioner W. P. Sumanasiri said 4,505 out of a total of 5,926 public servants are registered for postal voting and of those who had applied 1,421 applications were rejected.

He said the allocation of preferential numbers to 6,488 candidates vying for 420 slots for the elections to 17 Municipal Councils including the Colombo Municipal Council, five Pradeshiya Sabhas and one Urban Council have been completed.

The elections department will set up 1,167 polling stations for 1,589,622 eligible voters. The two-day postal voting will be held at military camps, SLTB depots, Divisional and District Secretariat offices, government departments and other state institutions. Meanwhile, PAFFREL Executive Director Rohana Hettiaarachchi said his organisation had deployed about 700 observers to monitor the polls. “We have been permitted by the Elections Commissioner to monitor the counting and the declaration of results. There have been no election-related incidents up to now,” Mr. Hettiaarachchi said. (Sandun A. Jayasekera)