On 26th
January, 2006, the
Elections Commissioner
issued an order for
nominations for local
government elections
to be given between 9th
February and 16th
February, 2006. With
this declaration, a
number of civil
society groups as well
as political parties
filed petitions with
the Appeals Court and
District Court
challenging the
Election
Commissioner’s
decision. PAFFREL
filed legal action
seeking to implement
the law relating to
compulsory use of
Identity Cards for
voter identification
before elections took
place. Petitions to
delay the elections
failed. The date for
elections was fixed
for 30th
March, 2006. A number
of local bodies were
forced to dissolve 8
months before their
term officially
expired.
The 2006 local
government elections
were largely free and
fair, although there
were a large number of
violent acts and
violations of election
laws according to
PAFFREL’s
observations. Most of
the violence was
perpetrated by
candidates belonging
to the ruling party
against candidates
from the UNP and JVP.
The President’s
decision to deploy the
Army to support the
Police on the day
before the election
and his directive to
the Inspector General
of Police to curb
violence and electoral
malpractice was a
positive step that
helped to reduce the
extent of violations.
Polling was held for a
total of 266 local
government bodies.
Of
these, 12 Municipal
Councils, 34 Urban
Councils and 220
Predeshiya
Sabhas.
Of a total of 25,533
candidates, 20,251
were aligned to
political parties,
while 5,272 were
independent. On the
day of the poll, a
total of 8,829 polling
stations were open. Of
these 8,655 were for
general polling with
an additional
174 female only
polling stations.
A total of 10, 838,
148 people were
eligible to vote at
this poll. This
followed from the last
minute postponement of
polling in 6 districts
–
Jaffna,
Batticaloa,
Vavuniya,
Mannar,
Killinnochi and
Mullativu, due
to security concerns.
For this monitoring
exercise, PAFFREL
deployed a total of
15,825 observers. Of
these, 14,825 were
stationery observers
and 1,000 mobile
observers, covering
all districts where
polling took place.
A major shortcoming of
this election was the
flagrant violation of
election laws relating
to the display of
posters, cut-outs and
banners. The election
authorities were
unable to either
prevent these from
being put up or to
remove them in an
effective way due to
their large numbers.
In addition, both the
ruling party and the
UNP abused state
resources, such as
vehicles, wherever
possible, in
conducting their
campaigns. The ruling
party utilized the
state media to their
partisan advantage.
This was the first
occasion on which
Identity Cards were
used at elections for
voter identification
purposes. This
exercise was largely
successful, although
some voters came to
polling stations
without any form of
identification.
Following from a
consultative meeting
conducted by the
Elections
Commissioner, it had
been decided to allow
voters not in
possession of a
National Identity Card
to vote providing they
could produce other
Government issued
identification, a
photograph endorsed by
a local authority or
by using their thumb
print. As a result,
voters without
identification were
permitted to vote
after taking their
thumb impressions.
PAFFREL congratulates
the Elections
Commissioner for his
efforts to ensure as
many voters as
possible can exercise
their franchise in an
accountable
manner.
We regret that once
again voters in most
parts of the North and
East were deprived of
their franchise due to
the decision of the
Elections Commission
to postpone elections
in these areas due to
unavoidable
circumstances. In
addition, over 200,000
internally displaced
persons were once
again deprived of
their right to vote.
PAFFREL urges the
Government and other
parties concerned to
find a political
solution that will
make countrywide
elections and free and
fair voting for all a
reality.
Kingsley Rodrigo
Chairman
PAFFREL
