Batti polls on Monday

The Elections Commissioner’s Office in Batticaloa says all arrangements have been finalised to hold the local government election in the Batticaloa district on Monday.
 Assistant Elections Commissioner S. Sudhakaran says officials on election duty have arrived from Colombo, Trincomalee, Ampara, Vauniya and surrounding areas. Election duty officials from the Batticaloa district are now reporting for duty. Dispatching ballot boxes and officials to relevant polling stations were carried out this morning. There are 285 polling stations across the district. In addition six polling stations have been set up for displaced persons.

The voting will take place to elect 101 members to nine local government bodies including the Batticaloa Municipal Council. 831 candidates from six political parties and 22 independent groups will contest the elections. The Assistant Elections Commissioner was hopeful that the first election result could be announced between 11.00 and 11.30 pm tomorrow.

Speaking to media the PAFFREL said a peaceful atmosphere is prevailing in the Batticaloa district. No serious incident has been reported so far. Meanwhile, a special security programme led by the Special Task Force is in place. Five thousand policemen are stationed to ensure the security of polling stations.