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Upcountry residents working in Colombo may be deprived of vote
View(s):Thousands of Central Province voters employed in Colombo are set to lose their voting rights after their employers turned down their request for leave to cast their votes next Saturday. The issue is due to be taken with the Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya next Tuesday when a group representing the interests of the workers, meet him.
“We have already lodged a complaint with the Elections Commissioner. This was after employees, mainly from the upcountry complained to us that their respective managements have refused to grant them leave’, Saumaya Youth Foundation chairman S.P.Anthonymuttu told the Sunday Times.
Mr Anthonymuttu put the figure which may be deprived of voting at 50,000. He said that the traders had pointed out that they would have to give leave to the employees from Friday to Sunday, if they were allowed to travel to their home towns for voting.
The organisation is also meeting with the traders to urge them to grant leave to employees to visit their home towns for voting. He said that the worst affected will be those employed in hardware stores, jewellery and textile shops, wholesale grocery business establishments and food outlets.
Under the existing laws leave should be granted to all employees enabling them to cast their votes.
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