04-02-2004, 05:04 PM
கடந்த இருபது வருடங்களுடன் ஒப்பிடும் போது இவ்வருடமே தேர்தல் மிக அமைதியாக நடந்து முடிந்துள்ளதாக சிறிலங்காவிற்குச் சொந்தமான தேர்தல் கண்காணிப்புக் குழு கூறி உள்ளது....!
----------------
Sri Lankan Elections End Peacefully, Monitors Say (Update)
April 2 (Bloomberg) -- Polling in Sri Lanka's 13th parliamentary elections was the most peaceful in two decades, according to People's Action for Free and Fair Elections, which stationed monitors at every polling station in the country.
The elections have been much less violent than any that we've experienced in the recent two decades,'' Jehan Perera, director general of the Colombo-based monitoring group, said in an interview. The group sent observers to each of the country's 10,439 polling stations.
Voting finished at 4 p.m. in an election that may decide the direction of talks on a peace settlement with Tamil rebels, that's seen as crucial to sustaining growth in the island's $16 billion economy. The resumption of negotiations may also help revive investment stalled by a dispute between the prime minister and president over how to end the 20-year civil war.
Today's vote came after President Chandrika Kumaratunga dissolved parliament in February to end a standoff with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe over talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which started fighting for an independent homeland in 1983.
Another election monitoring group, the Center for Monitoring Election Violence, said it received a total of 102 reports of election-related violence by the time polls ended at 4 p.m. local time.
CMEV confirms that polling day in the general elections of April 2004 was considerably and qualitatively less violent than the December 2001 general election,'' the group said in an e- mailed statement this evening.
While there was speculation that a curfew would be imposed after the polls closed, that hasn't happened yet.
Cease-Fire
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe helped broker a cease-fire with the Tigers in February 2002, with Norway's help. President Kumaratunga, who has executive powers, took control of three key government ministries last November saying he'd made too many concessions to the group.
The two leaders represent the two parties, which have dominated politics on the island - formerly known as Ceylon -- secured independence from Britain in 1948.
Political violence is common among supporters of opposing parties in Sri Lanka, where 26 people died in the last election in 2001, according to police. This time, four people were killed in the five-week campaign period.
It's a remarkable difference,'' Deputy Inspector General of Police, Jayantha Wickremaratne said in a telephone interview in Colombo. Observers from the Commonwealth and European Union also monitored the voting process.
Tamilcanadian.com
----------------
Sri Lankan Elections End Peacefully, Monitors Say (Update)
April 2 (Bloomberg) -- Polling in Sri Lanka's 13th parliamentary elections was the most peaceful in two decades, according to People's Action for Free and Fair Elections, which stationed monitors at every polling station in the country.
The elections have been much less violent than any that we've experienced in the recent two decades,'' Jehan Perera, director general of the Colombo-based monitoring group, said in an interview. The group sent observers to each of the country's 10,439 polling stations.
Voting finished at 4 p.m. in an election that may decide the direction of talks on a peace settlement with Tamil rebels, that's seen as crucial to sustaining growth in the island's $16 billion economy. The resumption of negotiations may also help revive investment stalled by a dispute between the prime minister and president over how to end the 20-year civil war.
Today's vote came after President Chandrika Kumaratunga dissolved parliament in February to end a standoff with Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe over talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, which started fighting for an independent homeland in 1983.
Another election monitoring group, the Center for Monitoring Election Violence, said it received a total of 102 reports of election-related violence by the time polls ended at 4 p.m. local time.
CMEV confirms that polling day in the general elections of April 2004 was considerably and qualitatively less violent than the December 2001 general election,'' the group said in an e- mailed statement this evening.
While there was speculation that a curfew would be imposed after the polls closed, that hasn't happened yet.
Cease-Fire
Prime Minister Wickremesinghe helped broker a cease-fire with the Tigers in February 2002, with Norway's help. President Kumaratunga, who has executive powers, took control of three key government ministries last November saying he'd made too many concessions to the group.
The two leaders represent the two parties, which have dominated politics on the island - formerly known as Ceylon -- secured independence from Britain in 1948.
Political violence is common among supporters of opposing parties in Sri Lanka, where 26 people died in the last election in 2001, according to police. This time, four people were killed in the five-week campaign period.
It's a remarkable difference,'' Deputy Inspector General of Police, Jayantha Wickremaratne said in a telephone interview in Colombo. Observers from the Commonwealth and European Union also monitored the voting process.
Tamilcanadian.com
<img src='http://kuruvikal.yarl.net/archives/PETBIRD1.gif' border='0' alt='user posted image'>