SUNIL JAYASIRI 
Reply To:
Name - Reply Comment
Video: Voter turn-out over 50% - Elections Dept.
The Elections Department says the voter turn-out at the Provincial Council polls that ended about an hour ago is about 50%, although a slightly lower figure of around 43% to 46% was recorded from the Sabaragamuwa province.
Meanwhile, the Elections Complaints Investigation Center (ECIC) of the Elections Department said it received 117 complaints of election violence within the course of the day. An official of the ECIC said the highest number of complaints had been reported from Ratnapura. The breakdown of complaints from each district is as follows: Anuradhapura – 17, Polonnaruwa – 16, Trincomalee – 12, Batticaloa – 14, Ampara – 19, Kegalle – 13, Ratnapura - 26.
However, the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) alleged that the election was not free and fair adding that the overall voter turn-out was only close to 45%.
According to CaFFE, a total number of 121 incidents of violence had been reported within the course of the day from all provinces where the elections were held, with several major incidents reported from Akkaraipattu.
Meanwhile, addressing a news conference at the conclusion of the election, at the Elections Secretariat in Rajagiriya this evening, Elections Chief Mahinda Deshapriya said there were 117 election related complaints during the day and 19 were inquired into. He also said that he had called for a full report on the four incidents until which the ballots of those polling stations would not be counted.
The four polling stations were from Pulmudai, Nivithigala and two from Kekirawa. However he said he was waiting for an official report to decide on his next course of action. He said he didn’t believe them to be major incidents and said no incidents that were beyond the control of the elections department had been reported today.(Lakna Paranamanna and Hafeel Farisz)
Comments - 22
Recommended
You May Also Like
