Elections conducted professionally, impartially

The Election process in general was conducted in a professional and impartial manner, Chief Observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission John Cushnahan said in the summary of the Preliminary report on the Presidential Election.

The summary of the EU EOM preliminary report:

Election day in the South proceeded satisfactorily and was an improvement on 2004. However voting in the North and East was marred by violence accompanied by an enforced boycott by the LTTE, resulting in extremely low voter participation in many areas.

The legal framework for elections provides an adequate basis for the conduct of democratic elections and allows for transparency of the process.

However, the Supreme Court interim order of November 10 installed a de facto discrimination against the voters from the LTTE controlled areas.

The EU EOM observed misuse of public resources for election campaigning.

Taken as a whole, the media offered the electorate a diverse range of political opinions that enabled voters to compare parties and candidates and thereby make a more informed choice on election day.

State media did not fulfil their duty to provide balanced and impartial reporting in their election related coverage.

Accurate updating of the voter register remains problematic.

The election process was, in general, conducted in a professional and impartial manner, by well-trained staff often working in very difficult circumstances.