Provincial Council Election

Final Report on Election Related Violence

Provincial Council Election

Sabaragamuwa & North Central 2008

CENTRE FOR MONITORING ELECTION VIOLENCE [CMEV]

Sabaragamuwa & North Central ? PC Election 2008 CMEV i

All rights reserved (C) Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) Material from this Publication may be used with due acknowledgement given to CMEV

ISBN: 978-955-1655-54-9

For Further information Contact:

Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) 24/2, 28th Lane, Flower Road, Colombo - 7, Sri Lanka.

Tel Fax E-mail Website

: + 94 11 2565304, 2565306 : +94 11 4714460 : cpa@sri. : September 2008

Sabaragamuwa & North Central ? PC Election 2008 CMEV ii

CONTENTS

Executive Summary

Introduction

Background Methodology Campaign Election Day Post- Election Violence Observations and Recommendations Summarized Audit Report Annexure

1. Election Day Incidents Summary 2. Post- Election Incidents Report 3. No. of voters deprived for lack of required identification Media Communiqu?s 1 13th August 2008 2 20th August 2008 3 21st August 2008 4 22nd August 2008 5 23rd August 2008 6 23rd August 2008 7 23rd August 2008 Tables

Pre ? Election Summary

Alleged Perpetrators of Violence (Cumulative Figures)

Offences Report (Cumulative Figures)

Date: 22/08/2008 Date: 22/08/2008

Page No 01 02 02 03 03 04 05 05 07

11 32 34

44 48 51 56 58 61 62

73 74

Sabaragamuwa & North Central ? PC Election 2008 CMEV iii

Category of Offences Carried Out by Each Party (Cumulative Figures) Tabulations of Party Affiliations of Perpetrators and Complainants Category of Offences Complained of by Each Party (Cumulative Figures) Complainants of Violence (Cumulative Figures) Election Day Alleged Perpetrators of Violence (Cumulative Figures) Offences Report (Cumulative Figures) Category of Offences Carried Out by Each Party (Cumulative Figures) Alleged Offences - Election Related Geographic Spread of Offences - Election Related Tabulations of Party Affiliations of Perpetrators and Complainants Graphs

1. Total Number Of Incidents By Type (239) 2. Incidents By District 3. Incidents By District 4. Alleged Perpetrators Of Violence Acknowledgements Photographs

Date: 22/08/2008 Date: 22/08/2008 Date: 22/08/2008 Date: 22/08/2008

Date: 23/08/2008 Date: 23/08/2008 Date: 23/08/2008 Date: 23/08/2008 Date: 23/08/2008 Date: 23/08/2008

75 76 77 78

80 81 82 83 84 85

87 87 88 88 89 90,91

Sabaragamuwa & North Central ? PC Election 2008 CMEV iv

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) commenced its monitoring of the Provincial Council Elections in the North Central and Sabaragamuwa Provinces on 8th August 2008. CMEV monitoring focused on the incidence of electoral violence and malpractice throughout the campaign and on Polling Day. CMEV monitoring has always been conducted in the belief that it contributes to the making of informed choices by the voter and is organized accordingly. Monitors in the field send information for further corroboration to the CMEV Secretariat in Colombo, which in turn releases reports to the media.

In the elections to the two Provincial Councils there was a decrease in the number and nature of incidents on Election Day, although there were a considerable number of incidents reported during the campaign, thereby vitiating the freeness and fairness of the polls.

In these elections, the highest number of complaints related to the disenfranchisement of voters on account of the lack of proper identity documents. This was also the case in the Eastern Provincial Council Election held on 10th May 2008. In its report on that election, CMEV highlighted the problem and the importance of taking steps to rectify it. The problem however has persisted. Another such issue is that of the misuse of public resources. This has become a common feature of elections held in Sri Lanka and is yet another reinforcement of the argument consistently advanced by CMEV regarding the urgency and pivotal importance of the full implementation of the Seventeenth Amendment. CMEV believes that this, through the establishment of independent commissions for the Police, Public Service and Elections amongst others, is absolutely necessary for protecting the integrity of the electoral process.

Sabaragamuwa & North Central ? PC Election 2008 CMEV 1

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