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Western Province: Largely peaceful, person arrested for photographing ballot paper
A high voter turnout was recorded from the Western Province yesterday, amid a peaceful atmosphere during the first Local Government Election held under the new electoral system.
Prime Minister RAnil Wickremesinghe and wife Maithree Wickremasinghe going to the College House of the Colombo University to cast their votes. PM Pic Ranjith Perera
The Gampaha District has the highest number of registered voters in the country with 1,724,309. Colombo District comes second with 1,652,389. Kalutara District has 941,742 registered voters.
In the Colombo District, voters are electing representatives to 13 LG bodies. There are five Municipal Councils (MCs), five Urban Councils (UCs) and three Pradeshiya Sabhas (PSs) being contested. Voters cast their ballots at 1,096 polling centres located throughout the district.
The large number of polling centres meant that it was difficult to give a precise figure regarding the percentage of votes cast, Sunil Kannangara, the Colombo District Secretary explained. “However, we are getting reports of a good turnout,” he said last afternoon. Mr. Kannangara expressed hope that the first electoral result from the district could be released two hours after counting began.
The College House, University of Colombo was busy from last morning after polling commenced at 7 am as Colombo metropolitan voters lined up to cast their votes. Voters included young first-time voters who were excited to cast their vote for the country’s largest Municipal Council, the Colombo Municipal Counil (CMC). Special arrangements were made to assist differently-abled persons to cast their votes with minimum difficulty.
Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe arrived at the polling centre around 9.15 am yesterday with his wife Prof. Maithri Wickremesinghe and United National Party (UNP) Mayoral candidate Rosy Senanayake to exercise their franchise. If elected, Mrs. Senanayake would be CMC’s first female Mayor.
“The preferential vote in the previous electoral system caused many issues in the past. However, that has been done away with, introducing the new electoral system,” Mr. Wickremesinghe told reporters after casting his vote. Mr. Wickremesinghe said the Government introduced a new electoral system where elected candidates would be held accountable for their actions if they failed to meet the expectations of the people.
“Politicians come and go, but no one had a visionary plan to develop Colombo as a modern city. We lack commitment in our representatives. I’m hopeful that whoever comes into administration will resolve the pending issues in Colombo as half of the city is full of dirt,” Zuhyle Mohammed, a resident of Kollupitiya told the Sunday Times yesterday after casting his vote at College House.
There was brisk voting in the Gampaha District with voters queuing up early to cast their votes. Voting was largely peaceful with no major incidents of election violence reported in the district. There were a few minor incidents. Turnout was reported to be over 60 per cent by 2 pm.
There was a minimum of two armed police officers at each polling station; in some areas over six policemen were deployed. One area with a large number of voters was the Hekitta Lions Club building situated opposite the Leprosy Hospital.
Candidates contesting at this poll voted early in the day and were seen greeting each other after they voted.
JVP General Secretary Tilwin Silva on his way to a polling booth in Kalutara. Pic Sarath Siriwardane
The polling station at Bandaranaike Maha Vidyalaya had long queues of voters forming three lines at the counters.
Security at polling booths was well maintained with police enforcing the law strictly. In Ethukale, Negombo two persons who acted in a suspicious manner close to a polling booth were arrested. Police on duty directed them to switch off their mobile phones as they entered the polling booth premises.
Voter turnout was also high in the Kalutara District where 4 Urban Councils and 13 Pradeshiya Sabhas are being contested. Turnout had surpassed 50 per cent by 2 pm. There were no major incidents of election violence. In one incident of election law violation, a voter at a polling centre in Moragalla, Aluthgama was arrested after allegedly using a mobile phone to photograph the ballot paper that he had just marked. The 23-year-old suspect was later released on police bail.
