09-25-2003, 05:44 AM
மற்றுமொரு பத்திரிகைச்செய்தி..
First ever election rigging in Norway
Tiger wins in Lankan style
by Bandula Jayasekara
Norway, which boasts of an impeccable democracy is shocked to learn that the recently concluded elections to the Oslo City Council have been rigged. The ballot papers in the polling station had already been marked in favour of Labour Party-politician and LTTE activist, Balasingham Yogarajah.
Under the Norwegian electoral system, ballot papers of all political parties or groups are placed inside the voting booth and the voter can select any one of them and vote for the candidates of his or her choice from the same party whose names and numbers are printed on the ballot paper. In addition to that the voter can write the names of any other party candidate at the bottom of the ballot paper, if he wishes to vote for persons from other parties.
Some voters, who wanted to vote for Labour Party and picked up the ballot paper of that party, found that somebody had already cross-marked it in favour of the candidate No 21 Yogarajah Balasingham, the LTTE leader in Norway who contested on the Labour Party ticket.
The Dagsavisen newspaper has highlighted this blatant malpractice by a naturalized citizen of Norway, which has tarnished the image of both the Labour Party and Norway.
In a news story titled Found pre-arranged voting ballots for the Labour Party candidate Balasingham Yogarajah, two journalists Karen R. Tjernshaugen and Nina Johnsrud, said that Yogarajah was placed as the Labour Party's 21st candidate on their list in Oslo, and won a seat in the city council having received several extra votes. With 2,470 personal votes he received the most preferential votes after two Labour Party stalwarts, Ellen Horn and Rune Gerhardsen.
The election officials at Linderud Centre in Oslo were horrified when a voter, Ole Elvedal complained that there were several pre-arranged Labour Party-ballots with votes for Balasingham already marked at the booth. According to the election law it is permitted to deliver prearranged preferential ballots to voters on the street, but such ballot papers cannot be brought into the polling centres.
Speaking to the Dagsavisen, the voter said, "When I went into the voting cubicle and selected a Labour Party ballot paper to vote that party and its candidates, I discovered that candidate No. 21 was already marked with a cross. I went through the entire bunch of ballots, and found three ballots that were already marked and then I brought it to the notice of the officials".
The crosses were marked rather weakly with a ballpoint pen. Many voters would not have noticed them but the computer system, which counts preferential votes, would have easily recognized the cross as a vote for Balasingham. Furthermore the Dagsavisen reported that Tone Darling, information secretary in the Bjerke constituency also confirmed that election officials on two occasions had found Labour Party-ballots in booths with a cross mark against Yogarajah's name. She felt that the prearranged ballots were placed in the booth just before the voter who complained had entered the booth. "We were aware that someone tried to place prearranged preferential ballots," Ms. Darling told the newspaper. "Hence we checked the booths regularly to prevent such malpractices".
Balasingham, who is also known as Bhaskaran, strongly rejected that he in any way was involved in rigging. "I am not aware of this. Some of my enemies may have done this to hurt me," he said when questioned by the Dagsavisen. However, moderate Tamils in Norway who canvassed for parties like the Socialist Left, said it was ridiculous to say enemies had rigged votes in favour of Balasingham. "The rigging by the LTTE has made the entire Tamil community lepers in the eyes of Norwegians," a leading Tamil professional in Oslo said. "This also proves once again that the LTTE has no respect whatsoever for democracy. In addition Balasingham was the only candidate who provided transport to the voters which is not a practice in Norway."
An electoral analyst, Bjarte R`F8rmark told the Dagsavisen that the ballot paper and voting supervision methods were not good enough. He added that there were instances of voters making minor mistakes. "But any attempts at marking votes for specific names on the ballots by somebody before a voter picks the ballot has never happened before," he lamented. "We feel that attempts at placing prearranged ballots in the booths are quickly discovered. But I cannot give a 100 percent guarantee against some individual voter having by accident cast a ballot in which a preferential vote is already cast in favour of one candidate," he admitted.
Norwegians who zealously guard their free and fair franchise expect the Labour Party to disown corrupt politicians. "There was no possibility for Balasingham to get 2,700 votes as there are only 4360 Tamil voters in Norway. Only about 60 per cent of them voted and of them more than half voted for Solheim's party and not for Balasingham and his Labour Party," the Tamil professional pointed out.
http://www.island.lk/2003/09/25/news01.html
First ever election rigging in Norway
Tiger wins in Lankan style
by Bandula Jayasekara
Norway, which boasts of an impeccable democracy is shocked to learn that the recently concluded elections to the Oslo City Council have been rigged. The ballot papers in the polling station had already been marked in favour of Labour Party-politician and LTTE activist, Balasingham Yogarajah.
Under the Norwegian electoral system, ballot papers of all political parties or groups are placed inside the voting booth and the voter can select any one of them and vote for the candidates of his or her choice from the same party whose names and numbers are printed on the ballot paper. In addition to that the voter can write the names of any other party candidate at the bottom of the ballot paper, if he wishes to vote for persons from other parties.
Some voters, who wanted to vote for Labour Party and picked up the ballot paper of that party, found that somebody had already cross-marked it in favour of the candidate No 21 Yogarajah Balasingham, the LTTE leader in Norway who contested on the Labour Party ticket.
The Dagsavisen newspaper has highlighted this blatant malpractice by a naturalized citizen of Norway, which has tarnished the image of both the Labour Party and Norway.
In a news story titled Found pre-arranged voting ballots for the Labour Party candidate Balasingham Yogarajah, two journalists Karen R. Tjernshaugen and Nina Johnsrud, said that Yogarajah was placed as the Labour Party's 21st candidate on their list in Oslo, and won a seat in the city council having received several extra votes. With 2,470 personal votes he received the most preferential votes after two Labour Party stalwarts, Ellen Horn and Rune Gerhardsen.
The election officials at Linderud Centre in Oslo were horrified when a voter, Ole Elvedal complained that there were several pre-arranged Labour Party-ballots with votes for Balasingham already marked at the booth. According to the election law it is permitted to deliver prearranged preferential ballots to voters on the street, but such ballot papers cannot be brought into the polling centres.
Speaking to the Dagsavisen, the voter said, "When I went into the voting cubicle and selected a Labour Party ballot paper to vote that party and its candidates, I discovered that candidate No. 21 was already marked with a cross. I went through the entire bunch of ballots, and found three ballots that were already marked and then I brought it to the notice of the officials".
The crosses were marked rather weakly with a ballpoint pen. Many voters would not have noticed them but the computer system, which counts preferential votes, would have easily recognized the cross as a vote for Balasingham. Furthermore the Dagsavisen reported that Tone Darling, information secretary in the Bjerke constituency also confirmed that election officials on two occasions had found Labour Party-ballots in booths with a cross mark against Yogarajah's name. She felt that the prearranged ballots were placed in the booth just before the voter who complained had entered the booth. "We were aware that someone tried to place prearranged preferential ballots," Ms. Darling told the newspaper. "Hence we checked the booths regularly to prevent such malpractices".
Balasingham, who is also known as Bhaskaran, strongly rejected that he in any way was involved in rigging. "I am not aware of this. Some of my enemies may have done this to hurt me," he said when questioned by the Dagsavisen. However, moderate Tamils in Norway who canvassed for parties like the Socialist Left, said it was ridiculous to say enemies had rigged votes in favour of Balasingham. "The rigging by the LTTE has made the entire Tamil community lepers in the eyes of Norwegians," a leading Tamil professional in Oslo said. "This also proves once again that the LTTE has no respect whatsoever for democracy. In addition Balasingham was the only candidate who provided transport to the voters which is not a practice in Norway."
An electoral analyst, Bjarte R`F8rmark told the Dagsavisen that the ballot paper and voting supervision methods were not good enough. He added that there were instances of voters making minor mistakes. "But any attempts at marking votes for specific names on the ballots by somebody before a voter picks the ballot has never happened before," he lamented. "We feel that attempts at placing prearranged ballots in the booths are quickly discovered. But I cannot give a 100 percent guarantee against some individual voter having by accident cast a ballot in which a preferential vote is already cast in favour of one candidate," he admitted.
Norwegians who zealously guard their free and fair franchise expect the Labour Party to disown corrupt politicians. "There was no possibility for Balasingham to get 2,700 votes as there are only 4360 Tamil voters in Norway. Only about 60 per cent of them voted and of them more than half voted for Solheim's party and not for Balasingham and his Labour Party," the Tamil professional pointed out.
http://www.island.lk/2003/09/25/news01.html
Truth 'll prevail