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There were conflicting reports of the conduct yesterday of elections to 222 local government bodies. The Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake declared last night that voter turnover was less than 70 percent and the election was generally peaceful. There however were also reports of violent incidents and election malpractices from other sources. The Presidential spokesman Harim Peiris said, “ We are clearly unhappy about the conduct of the election. Overall it was neither fair nor free” The Presidential Election Monitoring Unit had received 450 complaints of election related violence by 4pm today, [Thursday] from around the country. Elections Secretariat had received 150 complaints yesterday-mainly relating to the harassment or intimidation of voters. Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) in a media communiqué yesterday said that over twenty five percent of the results were seriously flawed. “The perpetrators of the election violence were clearly members of the United National Front, and in some cases ministers and senior politicians or their supporters have been identified by eye-witnesses,” the communiqué said. People’s Action for Free and Fair Election (PAFFREL) one of the independent election groups said that preliminary reports submitted by election observers in the field indicated that the local government election was conducted in an essentially free and fair manner in the vast majority of local authority areas.
2002 Local Government Elections350 incidents of election related violenceThe Presidential Election Monitoring Unit has received 350 complaints in the 30 hours upto 4.00 P.M. today. Complaints of intimidation and stuffing of ballot boxes were received from polling centers in the Polonnaruwa, Anuradhapura, Kurunegala, Puttalam, Moneragala, Matale and Nuwera-Eliya districts. There were complaints from the Haguranketha Pradeshiya Sabha area of intimidation and harassment of voters and disruption of activities at polling booths. On Tuesday, 19 March 2002 the monitoring unit received 84 complaints from the Anamaduwa, Wattegama, Minipe, Anuradhapura, Mawathagama and Nikaweratiya areas. 30 incidents were reported after midnight yesterday. Four PA candidates were attacked, and some Samurdhi officers were reported to have been threatened with punishment transfers yesterday. These incidents were reported from Balangoda, Laggala, Hiniduma, Nivithigala, Dehiwela, Wattala, Bibila, Haguranketha, Navalapitiya, Nikaweratiya, Mathugama, and Biyagama electorates. The Election Monitoring Unit of the Presidential Secretariat has informed Mr. Bradman Weerakoon, Secretary to the Prime Minister and DIG Gamini Navaratne about these incidents of violence. Police officials informed the Presidential Secretariat that steps have already been taken in respect of most incidents. Janadasa Peiris Director General (Media)
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