Interim report:

Election free and fair - MENIKE

The Centre for Monitoring Free and Fair Elections and Democratic Rights (MENIKE) issued an interim report dated January 24, which dealt with its objectives, election process and the reported incidents up to the date of the recently concluded Presidential election.

MENIKE an organization comprising of professionals established for monitoring national elections had mobilised 350 trained monitors to cover the country and 165 of them covered the Colombo district. From the said monitors the Centre has gathered first-hand information regarding the conduct of the election.

According to the information received by MENIKE through its network of monitors at the periphery as well as in Colombo the enthusiasm shown by the average voter was unprecedented and according to the Elections Department the final turnout was 74 percent.

MENIKE is happy to note that the decision of the Government to declare January 27 as a Public and Bank holiday to facilitate migrant workers to cast their votes, pursuant to an appeal made by MENIKE to Minister of Public Administration, too has contributed to this high turn out. It was observed that majority of the voters came to the poll in white clothes and they made it a point to cast their vote early in the day and approximately 60 percent of them voted by noon.

At this instance MENIKE is very happy to note that the requirement of National Identity Card and/or some form of identification stipulated by the Elections Department for voting was originally proposed by MENIKE in its final report pertaining to the Presidential election 2005. This development together with the voters’ enthusiasm to vote early in the day prevented impersonation to a greater extent.

On the elections day MENIKE through its network of monitors received 32 confirmed incidents out of which 4 were of serious nature. However, those incidents had no bearing whatsoever on the final result of the election.

The campaign leaders of the two main parties i.e. candidate of the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa and the candidate of the New Democratic Front (NDF) General (Rtd.) Sarath Fonseka, have publicly acknowledged that the election was conducted in a very peaceful and calm environment.

Two foreign observer groups from the Commonwealth Secretariat and Association of Asian Election Authorities as well as the local monitoring groups too have expressed the view that the election was free and fair.

It is also noted that the post poll violence, which is a common feature in the past Sri Lankan elections, was relatively low at the election. However, MENIKE regrets to note that as a result of a hand grenade attack, two UPFA supporters including a Buddhist monk died and a vehicle of opposition Member of Parliament was shot at after the poll.

Even through there are complaints by the NDP candidate with regard to the manner in which the votes were counted, MENIKE has observed that there was no room whatsoever to indulge in malpractices at the counting centres.

According to the Elections Commissioner immediately after the poll a special sticker was affixed on the ballot box and the ballot boxes were transported to the respective counting centres accompanied by the representatives of the two main candidates.

Each counting centre was comprised of several counting rooms and at the respective counting rooms the ballot boxes were opened in the presence of the counting agents of the candidates and the count was also done in their presence.

MENIKE observed that immediately after the final count of the respective counting room the officer-in-charge prepares a report on several self carboned papers, which indicates the total number of votes polled by each candidate from that counting room.

The officer-in-charge as well as the counting agents of the candidates certify that the accuracy of that report and copies are given to the counting agents of the two main candidates and a copy is exhibited at a conspicuous place. Once the entire count of a polling division is concluded the returning officer prepares and certifies a report and displaced same to the Elections Commissioner to declare the results of that polling division.

In these circumstances MENIKE is of the view that there is no room whatsoever to manipulate the counting of votes in favour of any candidate.

This position was officially confirmed by the Elections Commissioner at the ceremony, which took place to declare the final result.

MENIKE wishes to thank the Elections Commissioner and the law enforcement authorities for the steps taken to ensure that the poll is conducted without any violent incident and/or in violation of election laws.

MENIKE also wishes to commend the Elections Commissioner for his decision to use self carboned papers to record the results of each counting room enabling the entire counting process to be carried out in a transparent manner and requests him to follow a similar process at the future elections.