Over 400 CMEV monitors for tomorrow's polls

Mohammed NAALIR

The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) will deploy 450 election monitors, 28 field monitors and 12 mobile monitoring teams, each team comprising two monitoring officers tomorrow for the Sabaragamuwa and North Central Provincial Council Elections, CMEV Co-ordinator D.M. Dissanayake said yesterday.

He said 218 election related violence incidents including major incidents have been reported from both provinces.

Addressing the media at the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute for International Relations, Dissanayake said out of this, 118 incidents are from the North Central Province and the rest from Sabaragamuwa Province.

Dissanayake said Polonnaruwa, Kalawana, Kolonna, Kekirawa and Kalawewa polling divisions have been identified as vulnerable divisions in connection with the election violence.

Eighty six incidents of violence from Anuradhapura district, 32 from Polonnaruwa district, 56 from Ratnapura district and 44 from Kegalle district have been reported to the CMEV, he added.

Out of the total complaints, 115 were against the UPFA, 35 against the UNP, four against the JVP, one against the National Congress and two against Police.

During this period, two attempted murders, one grievous hurt incident, 10 incidents of bodily harm, 36 assault incidents, 20 threat and intimidation incidents, two instances of State property abuse, nine robbery incidents, three arson incidents and one case of abduction had been reported.