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Polling
day mainly peaceful, says Commonwealth observer group
An interim statement issued by the Commonwealth Observers last evening identified the role of the state media and election violence as the "shadows" cast on the electoral process. "I would prefer that the media be well-balanced all the time, however it is funded" she said. The Commonwealth Observer Group has been in Sri Lanka since March 25, on the invitation of Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake. The objectives of its visit were to observe and come to a conclusion about the credibility of the election process as a whole, determine whether the conditions exist for a free expression of will by the electors and if the results of the election reflect the wishes of the people. "The people came voluntarily to vote. There was a good turn out. You could observe by the people's body language and what they had to say, that they were keen on casting their vote." said Ms. Reid. Most importantly, the climate was such that the people could freely express their will and there was a process in place that informed the people, so that they could cast a meaningful vote, she said. The process of observation begins from the point of the observer informing him/herself of the system in place within the country and continues until the results are announced. The final report which will be completed by April 8 will be sent to the Commonwealth Secretary General who in turn will send it to the Elections Commissioner. Unable to assess the completion of the poll, as the observers were yet to send in their reports, Ms. Reid maintained that within Colombo where she was stationed she saw nothing untoward. "There were no complaints. I can say that voting day was satisfactory. I was in areas where people walked to polling centres to cast their vote and they were happy with the way things were conducted" she said. The Commonwealth Observer Group comprised fourteen members made up of eight observers and six support staff-members. The teams that were deployed across the country were based in Colombo, Galle, Ratnapura, Jaffna, Batticaloa, Anuradha-pura/Trincomalee and Kandy. In carrying out observations, the group was expected to be impartial and objective and give an honest assessment, without fear or favour. Their concern was the electoral environment and the process, rather than the outcome. Their role as observers included observing closely and at first hand not only the polling and counting but also campaigns and the media coverage. And, most significantly, they observed in their individual capacities and not as representatives of respective countries, governments or organisations. "I can conclude that this election had a much better outcome, process-wise, than the last," said Ms. Reid. |
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