At least 25 of the 64 marked ballot papers allegedly found discarded in a drain near the Technical College in Ratnapura had been clearly marked for the common Opposition candidate, General (Retired) Sarath Fonseka.
These 25 apparently valid ballot papers, which had been rejected for some reason, were recovered three days after the January 26 Presidential Election. Other ballot papers apparently marked in General Fonseka’s favour had been defaced with pencil markings, suggesting a deliberate attempt to invalidate the votes.
 |
 |
| UNP deputy leader examinig the ballot papers recovered from a garbage dump. Above the ballot papers showing votes for Gen. Fonseka. |
The ballot papers in question, which were made available to the Sunday Times, bore polling serial numbers, the seal identifying the polling booth, and the purple “Rejected” seal.
Opposition parties say the ballot papers are evidence of irregularities during the vote counting process.
According to an account given to the Sunday Times, the 64 ballot papers were found by Ratnapura UNP Provincial Council member Iflar Yehiya and some of his party supporters, who then handed these papers to Ratnapura District Member of Parliament, Ms. Thalatha Athukorala. The next day the Provincial Council member’s house was searched by the police.
Ms. Athukorala told the Sunday Times that the 64 ballot papers were handed over to her on January 29 by a group of her supporters. They had told her that they had found the papers near the technical college, which had been used as a counting centre, serving four areas – Eheliyagoda, Balangoda, Rakwana and Pelmadulla. She said hundreds of partially destroyed ballot papers had been recovered, but only 64 were found to be “intact”.
“Some of the papers had the rejection seal stamp, even though they were valid,” she said. “Under election regulations, ballot papers, including rejected ballots, cannot be discarded for at least six months after the election. This is a clear sign the people have not had a free and fair election.”
Ms. Athukorala said some of the recovered papers bore evidence of deliberate tampering to make them invalid.
 |
| The table shows the serial numbers of the ballot papers and which symbol got the vote |
“We have enough proof and evidence to use in our petition against this election, and we will be taking legal action,” she said. “The Elections Commissioner has promised to personally look into the matter.”
On Tuesday, General Sarath Fonseka personally brought up the issue of the 64 recovered ballot papers. He was accompanied by UNP Deputy Leader Karu Jayasuriya.
“The Elections Commissioner has assured us that the matter will be investigated,” Karu Jayasuriya told the Sunday Times. “We insist that this is a serious matter.”
Mr. Jayasuriya said initial inspections suggested the ballot papers were postal votes. He said the papers had all the indications of being genuine, including the serial numbers of the voting booths. He added that the matter has been brought to the notice of the Mahanayaka Theras.
Meanwhile, the Opposition has given the Commissioner of Elections full details relating to the 64 ballot papers.
According to Attorney-at-Law Upul Jayasuriya, who was present at the meeting between the UNP leaders and the Elections Commissioner, the Commissioner had given an assurance before the election that pens, not pencils, would be provided to voters at the polling booths, as a measure to minimise fraud or tampering. “The Commissioner was not aware that pens were not provided at any of the polling booths,” he said.
According to the UNP’s Mr. Karu Jayasuriya, at least seven different seals had been used on the ballot papers.
M. A. P. C. Perera, Senior Assistant Elections Commissioner, Ratnapura, said he had so far received no complaints or reports regarding the papers. “If there’s any cause for doubt about the papers, the Elections Commissioner will certainly look into the matter and order an investigation,” he said.
Meanwhile, Ratnapura District Secretary G. M. Gunadasa said he did not believe the ballot papers story and completely rejected the allegations. He said ballot papers cannot be removed or discarded in the manner suggested by the Opposition parties. “They said the papers were found in a drain outside the Ratnapura technical college, but we never received any of these papers,” he said. “We have received no complaints, and neither have the police.”
Mr. Gunadasa said the Elections Department would conduct an independent inquiry and take appropriate action if irregularities are suspected. So far, the Ratnapura authorities are not convinced by the allegations made by certain political parties, he said.
The Sunday Times learns that Deputy Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya will be investigating.
CID to probe ballot paper detection
The investigations into the detection of marked ballot papers in Ratnapura have been handed over to the Criminal Investigations Department (CID), Ratnapura Government Agent H. W. Gunadasa said yesterday.
The Department of Elections had already begun an inquiry after the main opposition candidate, Gen Sarath Fonskea lodged a complaint with Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayaka on Wednesday.
Mr. Gunadasa said that since the allegations were of a serious nature the matter had now been handed over to the CID and that several officials who were present on election day were likely to be questioned. The ballot papers were found in a half-burnt garbage dump in the Ratnapura district. |
E-mail
