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Polling day anything but peaceful with over 100 complaints
View(s):Election monitoring groups reported several incidents of election law violations and violence on Polls day. The Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) said 103 election related complaints were received on polls day with three serious incidents and three cases of use of firearms.
Executive Director of CaFFE, Keerthi Tennakoon told the Sunday Times that the seven Provincial Council (PC) elections held in the past two years had fewer incidents on Polls day compared with the Uva polls yesterday. He said the attack on the Bandarawela Mayor by UPFA members, the attack on the coordinating secretary of Chief Ministerial candidate Harin Fernando in Badulla and the attack on UNP supporters by UPFA members in Viyaluwa were the serious incidents reported.
“The violence was in Moneragala before the polls, but it suddenly shifted to Badulla on election day. It was possibly due to the strong campaign launched by the UNP in the district,” he said. The Centre For Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) listed several of the incidents which included an attack with a blunt instrument on the Coordinating Secretary of UNP Candidate Harin Fernando by a ruling party Southern PC Minister yesterday.
The Network for Election Monitoring (NEW) said they received 93 complaints on Election Day, which included illegal campaigning on polls day, transporting of voters illegally and intimidation of voters.