East polls, a non-election: should be held afresh - LPW

Lanka Polls Watch urges the Elections Commissioner to hold fresh elections for the entire Eastern Province, as today's poll had been a non-election infested with corruption and state-sponsored terror.

LPW Coordinator Gamini Pannila says in a statement that the East PC polls ended as another corrupt, infamous election and a black mark against democracy, in which voters did not have even the democratic right to exercise their franchise.

LPW says it has been receiving and continues to receive reports of widespread violence and malpractices from Batticaloa, Trincomalee and Digamadulla districts.

LPW vehemently condemns the robbery of eastern people's voting right before the very eyes of observers not only by Pillayan, but also by government politicians and officials.

The arrest of Malaka Silva, who is the son of Minister Mervyn Silva and Colombo Municipal Councilor Lal Peiris at the Bambarawana Central College polling station in Dehiattakandiya by the STF, threats received by the wife and the son of the Speaker of Parliament by an armed group in Ampara, malpractices committed by supporters of Minister Amir Ali in Valachchena and grave intimidation of voters by Minister K.A. Baiz in Mutur are enough evidence to press the point.

In certain areas, even the contesting candidates were threatened when they went to cast their votes. Therefore, it is not difficult to surmise the plight of the average voter.

According to LPW's observations, a daylight robbery of votes had been committed by armed groups with affiliations to the government without any show of opposition evident from law enforcement and election officials at around 80 polling centres, and therefore, today's election cannot be termed as a free and fair one under any standard.

Taking all these into consideration, LPW defines the East PC election as a non-election, and urges the Elections Commissioner to annual the entire results and hold fresh elections to ensure the democratic right of the eastern people that had been snatched away from them.