Public need not worry if their poll cards for the upcoming Presidential election have errors so long as they possess a valid identification, an elections official said.
Additional Elections Commissioner P.M. Siriwardana said incorrect spelling of a name or the omission of national identity card numbers on poll cards will not be a problem if the voter has got his/her name on the voting register and had the NIC or other valid identity documents.
“Officers at the polling booths have been told how to respond in case of errors or omissions in polls cards,” Mr. Siriwardana said.
Asked if a certified letter by the Grama Sevaka or any other document such as an affidavit was required in the event that someone had got a poll card with errors, the Additional Commissioner said it was not necessary as long as the voter could prove his identity.
Several people said their names had been misspelt or a part of their names had been omitted in the poll cards. Some said their poll cards did not carry their NIC number.
A Havelock Town resident said that at every election, the poll card he got had his name misspelt.
He also said the poll cards of two other persons who are not members of his household were also delivered to his address.
The Additional Elections Commissioner said that public should be not accept any polls cards that did not belong to them. “They should immediately return them to the postman,” he said.
When People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) Chief Rohana Hettiarachchi was asked about poll card errors, he said such complaints had not come to his office.
He said it would not be a major issue if the voter had the NIC.
Mr. Hettiarachchi said that about 13% of the voters registered on the 2008 list had not entered their NIC number when filling the application. “People should pay attention to this factor when filling the forms because declaring the Identity Card number is an assurance that you get to prove your identity on the poll card itself even if your name is written wrong,” he said.
With the deadline for delivery of poll cards closing on January 18, Post Master General M.K.B. Dissanayake said that so far 70% of the cards had been distributed and usually they distributed 98% of the cards. “Public can present their identity cards and obtain the undelivered poll cards from the post office till the day of the elections,” the PMG said.
Asked if there was enough security for the postal employees who go on poll cards delivery, the PMG said it was carried out under police protection. |
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