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80 international monitors will be here for election
More than 80 international monitors will be invited for the Presidential election by local polls observers and the Elections Commissioner.
Additional Commissioner for Elections U.Amaradasa told the Sunday Times that they have invited international monitors including members from the Commonwealth Secretariat.
He said however the European Union has not been invited.
The Peoples Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) has announced that 35 international election monitors will arrive on December 26 to observe the presidential election scheduled for January 8.
Executive Director of PAFFREL, Rohana Hettiarachchi said that the Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya granted approval to PAFFREL’s proposal to invite a team of 35 foreign observers from the Asian Elections Monitoring Organization.
The observers represent Thailand, Bangladesh, Philippines, India, Afghanistan, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan and Nepal, Mr. Hettiarachchi said.
Center for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) said it has invited 25 international monitors from Taiwan Asian Monitoring Network for election monitoring activities.
India’s Election Commission announced yesterday that it will send a team of nine election observers to Sri Lanka for the upcoming presidential election.
Meawhile the British House of Lords had raised concern about the upcoming Presidential election and has urged the Sri Lankan government to invite international monitors.
The Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills and Foreign and Commonwealth Office Lord Livingston said that Britain welcomed an announcement by the Elections Commissioner that Commonwealth and SAARC monitors have been invited to monitor the election.
“Sri Lankan presidential elections have been called for next month. We have encouraged the Government of Sri Lanka to invite international observers so that the elections can be fairly assessed. We understand that Sri Lanka’s Election Commission has invited the Commonwealth and the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation to observe. We welcome these moves,” he said.