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| Monday, 19 July 2004 |
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Politics | |
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| Healthy voter turnout at PC polls Contrary to Opposition claims that the general voter turnout at the Provincial Council Elections had dipped to below 50 per cent and was the lowest in the country's electoral history, statistics produced by the Election Commissioner's Department showed the average voter turnout to be a healthy 57.06 percent. On the other hand, only 55 per cent went to the polls at the Presidential election of 1988 debunking Opposition claims that the July 10 Provincial poll had the lowest voter turnout of all elections. In fact the July 10 poll was an improvement on the Wayamba (North Western) Provincial Council Election held in the immediate aftermath of the April General election, with only a 55 percent voter turnout. Of the six Provinces which went to the polls on July 10, the lowest voter turn out was in the Western Province (50.57%). Barring the Southern PC (54.92%) the remaining four provinces recorded polls averages of over 55%. They are North Central Province (59.97%), Central (57.92%), Uva (62.38%) and Sabaragamuwa (57.82%). There was a sizable voter turnout in many of the 15 districts covering the six provinces with Nuwara Eliya recording the highest (67.78%) followed by Badulla (63.49%), Polonnaruwa (60.66%), Moneragala (60.19%) and Anuradhapura (59.64%). According to the Elections Department, the lowest turn out was recorded in the Colombo District (47.83%) followed by Gampaha (50.50.74%) and Matara (53.67%) with the balance 12 electorates polling between 55% and 67%. The Freedom Alliance won all six Provinces. The Freedom Alliance polled 2,873,239 votes against the UNF's 1,839,241. The Alliance bagged 105 seats while the UNF could manage only 13. |
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Produced by Lake House |
