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Where
have all the voters gone? Many of those who did not vote told The Sunday Times they were not interested in the polls because the Provincial system has had little benefit for the people. The unruly behaviour of parliamentarians recently, added to their disenchantment with the whole setup they said. M.V.Bandara from Elpitiya sharing his views said, "Though the provincial system has been with us for some time now, it has hardly had any impact on the province. The system is a white elephant and that is one reason why I have decided not to vote.Many youth in the region share my view. They say those who get elected to the Provincial Councils do not understatnd the younger generation." Kumudini Hemawardene from Ratgama said the Provincial Council elections could not change the country's administration and there was little use voting for an election that did not have any effect on the Central government. "The exercise is therefore a waste of time. This country has become a haven for elections that have little bearing on the people. All that the politicians do is to cheat the people. Most of them enjoy the best things in life while the voters undergo hardships," she charged. Over a million people were eligible to vote at yesterday's election to the 53-member Southern Provincial Council. The Galle District with its 71,608 voters will return 23 members, from seven parties and two independent groups in the fray. Galle's Returning Officer G. Hewawasam said 234 candidates were contesting the polls and there were 670 polling stations and 52 counting centres. The Matara District with its 550,506 voters will return 18 members. Matara Returning Officer J.R. Dissanayake said 189 candidates were contesting the polls and there were 431 polling stations and 42 countring centres. The Hambantota District with its 388,361 will return 12 members from eight political parties and three independent groups in the fray. Returning Officer Chandradasa Jagoda said 165 candidates were contesting the polls and there were 373 polling stations and 242 counting centres. Polls
monitors voice concern He said the polls were peaceful though a few incidents of violence and intimidation were reported from areas like Nawalapitiya, Gampola, Katana, Devinuwara, Kekirawa and Godakawela in Rakwana. The polls monitoring body said the Elections Commissioner's decisions under the 17th Amendment, like issuing instructions regarding the political parties' and independent groups' responsibilities, contributed in creating a peaceful pre-election situation. The release reiterated its earlier accusation that the Police was slack in the removal of posters. It urged the IGP and the Police Commission to take steps to rectify this situation. Meanwhile, The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) stated that a total of 60 polls related incidents were reported during yesterday's PC elections, with 26 of them being of a serious nature, including impersonation and ballot stuffing. CMEV chief, Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuthu said the low voter turnout was an 'unhealthy trend'. "While the low level of violence is good, the low level of people's interest, is not", he said, adding that there clearly was a sense of 'despair and despondence' by the people. Disgusted
with politics, some spoil their votes According to early reports, drop in voter turnout compared to the 1999 provincial council election was almost 50%. "People are questioning the validity and effectiveness of the provincial council system which was largely meant for the Northern and Eastern provinces as part of a political solution to the ethnic conflict. The irony is that the system is not functioning in the North-East, while in the rest of the country, it makes no sense. It's just a white elephant and a burden on the state," lawyer Deepthi de Mel who had come to cast his vote at the College House polling centre in Colombo said. The College House polling centre had recorded only 22 percent of the voting by 2 p.m. – meaning only 481 of the 1,729 voters had cast their votes by then. "I am only fulfilling my civic duty by voting because I don’t want someone else to cast my vote before I do,” said S.A.C.M. Zuhyle, a management consultant. In the voting centre at the Upananda Vidyalaya in Allen Avenue, Dehiwela, of the 1,892 voters, only 272 cast their votes by noon. "The low turnout was quite evident," said PAFFREL polls monitor Bertie Perera, whom we met at the Allen Avenue centre. "This is one of the lowest voter turnout record I have witnessed." Mr. Perera said polling was peaceful and there was no incidence of violence or malpractice in his area. "This could be taken both as an indication of the level of importance the people lay on the Provincial Council System and also the opinion they have of politicians," he said. Thanuja Ariyananda, an NGO activist, whom we met at S. de. S. Jayasinghe school in Dehiwela, said she had come to spoil her vote and to ensure that her vote was not used by an impersonator. "We are sick of politicians. We just came to ensure that our votes are not cast on our behalf." This voting centre which had a total of 4,443 registered voters had recorded a polling of 1,036 by noon. Elections official E. S. Athgala, a veteran of ten elections, said he was shocked by the low voter turnout. UNP candidate Niroshan Padukka who had come to cast his vote at the polling booth at the Boralasgamuwa Dharma Rajeeshrikrama Buddhist temple, admitted that he had to print more than 10,000 posters to be pasted around Colombo to reach out to the voter. When pointed out that the poster campaign was against the law, he said it was the only option for the 'poorer candidates' who could not afford a television ad campaign. The situation was no different at a polling booth at Wattegama in Maharagama. Of the 1,842 voters, only 485 had cast their votes by noon. "This is the first time that an election is held on a weekend. If it was on a working day, most people would go to their working place after casting their vote. Politics is not an important aspect of the lives of people who give more value to their Saturday leisure than to an exercise to elect some rogue politicians," observed Sanjeewa Godage, a young shop assistant, who spoke like a seasoned analyst. An election official who did not wish to be named described politics as the 'best business investment'. "This is now the best business, where one need not worry about capital and the usual business risks. You fool the people once and you can rest assured of a cushy living for the next couple of years." Polls
Chief still in hospital Despite assurances and expectations from the government that the Election Commissioner would turn up for duty yesterday, Mr. Dayananda Dissanayake had not turned up. Hospital sources said that they advised the commissioner not to be exposed to situations of high stress. Mr. Dissanayake was admitted to Colombo General Hospital last Thursday following a heart attack. Meanwhile constitutional lawyers said the absence of the commissioner could cause severe problems in the administration of the election. Attorney at law J.C Weliamuna, said that according to the 17th Amendment there was no provision for an Acting Commissioner to be appointed. "In order to appoint an Acting Commissioner, the President must first appoint an Elections Commission," Mr. Weliamuna said that in the Supreme Court ruling, the bench determined that Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake could not vacate his position at any time until the Commission was appointed. Presidents Counsel Desmond Fernando said that as Section 61(a) of the Provincial Council Act of 1987 stipulates that only the Commissioner can allocate the two Bonus seats, in his absence it could not be done. However election department sources said that they may get the commissioner to certify the documents, if the need arose. Small
queues, few incidents Anuradhapura District Assistant Elections Commissioner Chandraratna Pallegama said even by one in the afternoon only 35% of voters had cast their votes. There were reports of a few polls-related violence, one of which occurred at the Anuradhapura Puliyankulama Hatharas Vidyalaya polling center, where two UPFA supporters allegedly attacked a UNF representative. The attackers had reportedly stolen some official documents from the representative, police said. Police had also apprehended 17 people charged with voter impersonation. Sixteen of them were apprehended at the Kalawewa Muslim Vidyala while the other had been apprehended at the D.S Senanayake Vidyalaya. However, overall the district remained calm except for a few minor infringements including posters being found pasted near many polling booths. Election Monitors alleged that police took little action to tear them. Meanwhile the candidates cast their votes early in the morning. Head of the UPFA candidates North Central province Chief minister Berty Premalal Dissanayake and his son deputy minister Duminda Dissanayake cast their votes at about 7.30 a.m. at the Vannitamma Deepani Maha Vidyalaya polling center. Head of the UNP candidates R.B Abeysinghe cast his vote at St. Joseph's Maha Vidyalaya while the youngest candidate in the party, Keerthisinge Wijeratne cast his vote at the Galenbindunuwewa Getalama Temple. Polls
come and go but our problems remain When The Sunday Times visited several polling stations they looked virtually empty except for the election staff and a sprinkle of voters. "During the last election by morning a lot of people were seen scrambling to vote. But today things are relaxed as the turnout is very low even by noon," an election observer at St. Anne's College in Daluwakotuwa in the Negombo electorate said. He said 350 out of the 4000 registered voters from the polling station had cast their votes by noon and people were trickling in one by one rather than in groups. In Katana the voter turnout by 11.00 clock was very low in most polling stations while some had a relatively healthy turnout. One election observer said that at St. Pauls Maha Vidyalaya in Katana Halpe only seven out of 1400 registered voters had cast their votes by 11 in the morning. For most people yesterday was just another working day with shops kept opened and people moving about freely. A voter in Halpe Katana said people are no longer interested in elections because the ordinary man on the street does not get anything out of them and their frequency has made them just another event. "I came to cast my vote because I don't want my vote being impersonated by another person. When elections are held too often people get fed up of them and it loses its value," 70-year-old Austin Rajapakse from Katana said. Several people in the Gampaha District told The Sunday Times they were not voting because inspite of the many elections that have been held there were no signs of their burdens being reduced. "I don't want to vote. My polling card is in my three-wheeler. People had lot of hopes that elections would solve their problems but our problems have only aggravated and we fear that the cost of living will further increase after the elections," Herath Bandara, a three-wheeler driver from Seeduwa said. Another person from Seeduwa, Gamini Wijeratne said he didn't want to vote because he couldn't decide whom to vote for, since no party has done anything worthwhile. |
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