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| Wednesday, 17 March 2004 |
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The European Union Election Observation Mission Team met the Chief Elections Commissioner, Dayananda Dissanayake. The EU EOM delegation included the Chief Observer, John Cushnahan, the Head of the EU Delegation to Sri Lanka, Mr. Wilton, and four experts of EU EOM; Mr. Accame (Deputy Chief Observer), Mrs. Blanchet (LTO Co-ordinator), Mrs. Maiola (Media Expert) and Mr. Saphy (Election/Legal Expert), a press release issued by EU EOM. After the meeting the Chief Observer said: "We had a lengthy discussion with the Chief Election Commissioner on a number of issues. We were seeking clarification and technical information on polling facilities especially related to voting in the LTTE controlled areas, postal voting, transfer of police and the counting of votes. On the issue of protecting the right of every voter to exercise their franchise without restrictions, we asked the CEC to take whatever actions were necessary to achieve this. Although there are unique circumstances related to the northern and eastern zones this right must be implemented throughout the entire country. As regards voters coming from the LTTE controlled areas I stressed the importance of ensuring that this election was not a repetition of what happened during the 2001 election when large numbers of voters were prevented from exercising their democratic rights. The decision on the location of polling stations is a matter for the CEC and we will not interfere with it. It is important nonetheless that the location of polling stations is based on two criteria. First, it must ensure that every voter can exercise their franchise. Second, it must comply with the obligation under the law that there is police presence in all polling stations. If both these criteria are met our team believes that it would comply with EU EOM criteria for establishing a proper polling framework." |
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