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| Wednesday, 10 March 2004 |
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Politics | |
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| Canada provides support for free and fair elections The Canadian High Commission to Sri Lanka announced yesterday that it will fund the activities of two leading local NGOs in support of free and fair elections in this country. A contribution of Rs. 7,000,000 (US$ 71,500) will be divided equally between the centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) and the People's Action for Free and Fair Election (PAFFREL) to enable both organisations to monitor the April 2 national election. High Commissioner, Valerie Raymond said, "Canada is pleased to support the important work of the CMEV and PAFFREL as these organisations seek to ensure that elections take place in a transparent and peaceful environment. We call upon all parties to ensure that the elections are free from political violence. At this critical moment in Sri Lanka's history, it is essential that the will of the people determines the way forward," states a press release issued by the Canadian High Commission on Monday. The contributions will be made through the Canada Fund for Local Initiatives (CFLI) which is one of the Canadian International Development Agency's (CIDA) mechanism to respond quickly to local initiatives. The contributions support these two election-monitoring organisations to deploy field-based monitors during the election campaign, on the day of election and after the release of election results. The funding to CMEV will also support the documentation and reporting of cases of human rights violations and violence during the 2004 general and provincial council elections. |
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