Election Officials are frustrated….
Election Officials are frustrated and deeply concerned about the lack of action taken against continuous violations of election laws and threats received by them, said all leading election monitors in a joint statement.
They further lamented that the integrity of the Elections to Uva Provincial Council on 20th September will be gravely compromised. The election monitors claim that Namal Thalangama, Deputy Commissioner of Kurunegala was threatened by political henchmen on August 06 at Loggal Oya, Mahiyanganaya, Badulla. In the recent past they were threatened in southern, north, north western and western provinces –in Homagama, Kesbewa (Western PC) Weligama, Matara (Southern) and Mahawa (North Western.)
The vehicles used in most election vehicle parades are “Defenders’’ the type specially used by politicians and elements attached to the security forces. Secondly a number of the supporters involved are from cadre given to the politicians as their security officers from Ministerial Security Division (MSD). Unless immediate measures are taken to prevent this type of incident in the future and political actors commit themselves to upholding elections laws in word and deed, the fairness of the poll on 20th September will be gravely compromised,” they said.
See This Link of that Statement - www.paffrel.com/posters/140815100832Joint%20Statement.pdf