EU pleased with the manner of handling the last General Election amidst LTTE threats
[02 Nov 2000]

In a statement issued yesterday European Commission praised the government of conducting the October 10 Parliament General Election in an efficient and professional manner amidst threats of violence of the LTTE.

The EU sent a mission of 77 international observers, drawn from 14 of its 15 member states, to monitor the October 10 poll. They were deployed at more than 400 polling stations.

“The most violence that occurred during the campaign was a consequence of LTTE actions. The serious violent incidents took place during the penultimate week of the campaign when over 34 people were killed in two suicide bomb attacks”, the statement added.

The statement said the violence and instances of malpractice were not strong enough of preventing people from exercising their franchise. “It would be fair to conclude that the overall results did to a reasonable degree reflect the will of the electorate”.

The EU Mission was headed by Irish MP John Cushnahan arrived in Sri Lanka on September 19. They travelled to nearly all parts of the country before and during the election.

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