Parliamentary General Election 2020 – Election Day Communiqué 3

Incidents on Election Day up to 5 p.m. and the close of polls

CMEV recorded a total of 301 election violations up to 5 p.m. 151 of these related to illegal campaigning while intimidation/influencing (57) and illegal posters/cutouts (21) were also prominent.

The following incidents are specific incidents received and confirmed by CMEV’s field monitors stationed at polling stations across the country:

  • CMEV received reports that 60 All Ceylon Tamil Congress supporters had arrived at ITAK supporter J Kishanthan’s house in Kalmunai, Digamadulla district at 9PM on Aug 4, assaulted several persons there & damaged property. Two persons have been hospitalised
  • CMEV received reports that a SLPP supporter was distributing a chit bearing numbers of the party’s Gampaha district candidates along with a rambutan to voters at the Ganhinigama North Community Hall polling centre in the Dompe
  • Numerous candidates continued to run ads on Facebook despite the campaigning prohibition on Election Day
  • It was reported to CMEV that Madolsima police arrested a boy aged 14 for providing transport services to voters to the Kohenewala Sinhala Vidayalaya polling station in Passara, Badulla district by a lorry. Later, the boy was released on bail on the grounds that he is under 18. The OIC of the police informed that they will report this matter to the court
  • It was reported to CMEV that Bogahakumbura Police arrested a group of persons with a van who were distributing leaflets for Badulla SJB candidate Chaminda Wijesiri. The Police will produce the suspects at the nearest Magistrate tomorrow.
  • It was reported to CMEV that SLPP Pradeshiya Sabha members including Suresh Warnasooriya had lighted firecrackers within 50m of the Kobeigane Sri Parakrama Vidyalaya polling station in Nikaweatiya, Kurunegala district.
  • There were a number of incidences of votes being recorded as already being cast when a voter arrived at the polling station. A number of affected persons were given dual ballot papers and allowed to vote after giving statements. Some went onto lodge complaints with the Election Commission. 

Further information on the types, perpetrating parties and locations of the incidents CMEV has recorded is detailed in the charts below:

Download the Communiqué in English

Parliamentary General Election 2020 – Election Day Communiqué 2

Incidents on Election Day up to 1 p.m.

The following incidents are specific incidents received and confirmed by CMEV’s field monitors stationed at polling stations across the country:

  • CMEV received reports that 60 All Ceylon Tamil Congress supporters had arrived at ITAK supporter J Kishanthan’s house in Kalmunai, Digamadulla district at 9PM on Aug 4, assaulted several persons there & damaged property. Two persons have been hospitalised
  • CMEV received reports that Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) supporter attacked and injured two ACMC supporters at Jamaldeen Square, Pottuvil in Digamadulla district at around 2.30AM today. The victims have been hospitalised.
  • The authorised Polling Agent for National Congress M..A. Rasheed was seated inside the Al Kalam Maha Vidyala Hall 1 Polling Station in Pottuvil, Digamadula District, wearing a face mask branded with a NC candidate preference number
  • CMEV received reports that at around 8:30 am, several voters at Indrarama Viharasthanaya polling station in  Padukka in the Colombo district were receiving calls from one phone number; asking them to vote for SLPP candidate Thilanga Sumathipala.
  • CMEV received reports that a SLPP supporter was distributing model ballot papers and influencing voters to vote for the SLPP at around 8:10 am, at the polling station at Thopawewa National School in the Polonnaruwa district
  • CMEV received reports that supporters of the Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) were forcing voters to vote for the party in the vicinity of the polling station at Katpahapuram Government Tamil Mixed School Vavuniya, in the Vanni district.
  • CMEV observed Polonnaruwa Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) candidate Hameed Mohammed attempting to talk to Polling Station officials and influence voters to vote for him at the Gallalla Al-Azhar Maha Vidyalaya polling station in Polonnaruwa.
  • CMEV received reports that Nuwara-Eliya SLPP candidate C.B. Ratnayake’s supporters entered Pannala Maha Vidyalaya Hall 2 in Walpone, Nuwara-Eliya in a drunken state at around 8.30AM and acted in a disorderly manner disturbing election officials.
  • CMEV received reports that a Senior Presiding Officer at a polling station in Thalpawila was influencing elderly voters, asking them to vote for SLPP Matara district candidate Nipuna Ranawaka. The SPO followed said voters to the ballot box and watched whilst they cast their vote.
  • CMEV observers report that Kurunegala SLPP candidate Mahinda Rajapaksa is traveling across the Nikawaretiya electorate with an unauthorised large number of supporters and vehicles, and has visited Mahasen National School Halls 1 & 2 Polling Stations
  • CMEV received reports that Puttalam Ulukkapalam Muslim MV& Anamaduwa Siyabalagaswewa Community Hall polling stations were small, no social distancing maintained, election officials didn’t follow #COVID19 health guidelines and health inspectors did not intervene.

Further information on the types, perpetrating parties and locations of the incidents CMEV has recorded is detailed in the charts below:

Parliamentary General Election 2020 – Election Day Communiqué 1

Incidents on Election Day up to 10 a.m.

Voting commenced at 7 a.m on Wednesday, August 5, 2020 for the Parliamentary General Election. CMEV is deploying 1,200 observers at polling centres, 175+ counting observers at counting centres, 90 field monitors and a team of 50 reporting, operations and mobile team operators at its Colombo HQ. Polling stations are operating under strict COVID-19 health precautions with health officials also being deployed.

A total of 70 incidents of election-related violations have been reported thus far, with illegal campaigning and illegal posers being the most prevalent. The scattering of chits bearing party symbols and candidate preference numbers is by far the most common election violation committed by candidates from a range of political parties all across the country

The following incidents are specific incidents received and confirmed by CMEV’s field monitors stationed at polling stations across the country:

  • CMEV received reports that 60 All Ceylon Tamil Congress (AITC) supporters had arrived at Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) supporter J Kishanthan’s house in Kalmunai, Digamadulla district at 9 p.m. on Aug 4, assaulted several persons there & damaged property. Two persons have been hospitalised.
  • CMEV received reports that a Sri Lanka Podujana Party (SLPP) supporter attacked and injured two ACMC supporters at Jamaldeen Square, Pottuvil in Digamadulla district at around 2.30 a.m. today. The victims have been hospitalised.
  • CMEV received reports that two SLPP supporters were aggressively coaxing voters at the gates of the D.A Rajapaksa Maha Vidyalaya in Mulkirigala, influencing them to vote for the SLPP. They were seen accompanying voters into the polling station.
  • CMEV received reports that supporters of Mahindananda Aluthgamage were verbally influencing voters to vote for the SLPP, at around 7.30 a.m. near the polling station at St. Mary’s College, Nawalapitiya.
  • Voters registered at the Nedunthivu polling station in Kayts, Jaffna district were waiting at Kurikattuvan for the boat service to travel to the station on the other side since 8 a.m. CMEV has lodged a complaint with the Election Commission

Further information on the types, perpetrating parties and locations of the incidents CMEV has recorded is detailed in the charts below:

Download the Communiqué here

CMEV Field Visit Report II – Election Situation Analysis as of 2nd August 2020

During the last week of the election campaign, CMEV launched its second evaluation of the ground campaign with an extensive focus given to voters’ interest levels in participating in the election. This evaluation covers the period up to August 2, 2020, after which the silent period with a prohibition on campaigning begins.

Download the report in English here

Election Violations Update #7 (August 2, 2020)

The seventh update of election violations CMEV has observed and recorded covers the period until August 2.

CMEV එය විසින් නිරීක්ෂණය සහ වාර්තා කරන ලද මැතිවරණ නීති උල්ලංඝණය කිරීම් හා ප්‍රචණ්ඩ ක්‍රියා පිළිබඳ හත්වන සිද්ධි වාර්තාකරණය අගෝස්තු 2 වන තෙක් කාලය ආවරණය කරයි.

சீ.எம்.இ.வி யின் 7வது தேர்தல் சட்ட மீறல்கள் மற்றும் வன்முறைகள் சம்பந்தமான கண்காணிப்பு அறிக்கை, ஆகஸ்ட் மாதம் 2ம் திகதி வரையிலாகும்.

Election Violations Update #6 (August 1, 2020)

The sixth update of election violations CMEV has observed and recorded covers the period until August 1.

CMEV එය විසින් නිරීක්ෂණය සහ වාර්තා කරන ලද මැතිවරණ නීති උල්ලංඝණය කිරීම් හා ප්‍රචණ්ඩ ක්‍රියා පිළිබඳ හයවන සිද්ධි වාර්තාකරණය අගෝස්තු 1 වන තෙක් කාලය ආවරණය කරයි.

சீ.எம்.இ.வி யின் 6வது தேர்தல் சட்ட மீறல்கள் மற்றும் வன்முறைகள் சம்பந்தமான கண்காணிப்பு அறிக்கை, ஆகஸ்ட் மாதம் 1ம் திகதி வரையிலாகும்.

Election Violations Update #5 (July 30, 2020)

The fifth update of election violations CMEV has observed and recorded covers the period until July 30.

CMEV එය විසින් නිරීක්ෂණය සහ වාර්තා කරන ලද මැතිවරණ නීති උල්ලංඝණය කිරීම් හා ප්‍රචණ්ඩ ක්‍රියා පිළිබඳ පස්වන සිද්ධි වාර්තාකරණය ජූලි 30 වන තෙක් කාලය ආවරණය කරයි.

சீ.எம்.இ.வி யின் ஐந்தாவது தேர்தல் சட்ட மீறல்கள் மற்றும் வன்முறைகள் சம்பந்தமான கண்காணிப்பு அறிக்கை, ஜூலை மாதம் 30ம் திகதி வரையிலாகும்.

Election Violations Update #4 (July 26, 2020)

The fourth update of election violations CMEV has observed and recorded covers the period until July 26.

CMEV එය විසින් නිරීක්ෂණය සහ වාර්තා කරන ලද මැතිවරණ නීති උල්ලංඝණය කිරීම් හා ප්‍රචණ්ඩ ක්‍රියා පිළිබඳ හතරවන සිද්ධි වාර්තාකරණය ජූලි 26 වන තෙක් කාලය ආවරණය කරයි.

சீ.எம்.இ.வி யின் நான்காவது தேர்தல் சட்ட மீறல்கள் மற்றும் வன்முறைகள் சம்பந்தமான கண்காணிப்பு அறிக்கை, ஜூலை மாதம் 26ம் திகதி வரையிலாகும்.

Election Violations Update #3 (July 21, 2020)

The third update of election violations CMEV has observed and recorded covers the period until July 21.

CMEV එය විසින් නිරීක්ෂණය සහ වාර්තා කරන ලද මැතිවරණ නීති උල්ලංඝණය කිරීම් හා ප්‍රචණ්ඩ ක්‍රියා පිළිබඳ තුන්වන සිද්ධි වාර්තාකරණය ජූලි 21 වන තෙක් කාලය ආවරණය කරයි.

சீ.எம்.இ.வி யின் மூன்றாவது தேர்தல் சட்ட மீறல்கள் மற்றும் வன்முறைகள் சம்பந்தமான கண்காணிப்பு அறிக்கை ஜூலை மாதம் 21ம் திகதி வரையிலாகும்.

Election Violations Update #2 (July 17, 2020)

The second update of election violations CMEV has observed and recorded covers the period until July 17

දෙවැනි සිද්ධි වාර්තාකරණය : මැතිවරණ ප්‍රචණ්ඩ ක්‍රියා නිරීක්ෂණ මධ්‍යස්ථානය (CMEV) මඟින්  නිරීක්ෂණය සහ වාර්තා කරන ලද මැතිවරණ නීති උල්ලංඝණය කිරීම් හා ප්‍රචණ්ඩ ක්‍රියා පිළිබඳ දෙවැනි  වාර්තාව  

CMEV එය විසින් නිරීක්ෂණය සහ වාර්තා කරන ලද මැතිවරණ නීති උල්ලංඝණය කිරීම් හා ප්‍රචණ්ඩ ක්‍රියා පිළිබඳ දෙවැනි සිද්ධි වාර්තාකරණය මඟින් අනාවරණය කරනු ලබන්නේ වසර 2020 ජූලි මස 12 වැනි දින සිට ජුලි මස  17 දක්වා කාලය හා සබැඳි සිද්ධීන්ය.

சீ.எம்.இ.வி யின் இரண்டாவது தேர்தல் சட்ட மீறல்கள் மற்றும் வன்முறைகள் சம்பந்தமான கண்காணிப்பு அறிக்கை ஜூலை மாதம் 17ம் திகதி வரையிலாகும்.

Election Violations Update #1 (July 15, 2020)

In the lead up to General Election 2020, CMEV will be providing periodic updates of election violations it has observed and recorded.

This first update covers the period from March 2 to July 12 (the dissolution of Parliament until the start of postal voting).

පළමු සිද්ධි වාර්තාකරණය :මැතිවරණ ප්‍රචණ්ඩ ක්‍රියා නිරීක්ෂණ මධ්‍යස්ථානය (CMEV) මඟින්  නිරීක්ෂණය සහ වාර්තා කරන ලද මැතිවරණ නීති උල්ලංඝණය කිරීම් හා ප්‍රචණ්ඩ ක්‍රියා පිළිබඳ පළමු වාර්තාව  

මෙම  වාර්තාව මඟින් අනාවරණය කරනු ලබන්නේ 2020 මාර්තු 2 සිට ජූලි 12 (පාර්ලිමේන්තුව විසුරුවා හැරීම සිට තැපැල් ඡන්ද ආරම්භය) දක්වා කාල සීමාවේ සිදු වූ සිද්ධීන් හා සබැඳි වාර්තාය.

2020 பாராளுமன்றத் தேர்தல் சட்ட மீறல்கள் மற்றும் வன்முறை சம்பவங்கள் குறித்து சி.எம்.இ.வி யின் கண்காணிப்பு அறிக்கை.

இந்த முதல் அறிக்கை மார்ச் 2 முதல் ஜூலை 12 வரையிலான காலத்தை உள்ளடக்கியது. (பாராளுமன்றம் கலைக்கப்பட்டதிலிருந்து அஞ்சல் வாக்களிப்பு தொடங்கும் வரை).

CMEV media and communications operations | Parliamentary Election, August 2015

Overview
The information and communications operations of the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) for the Parliamentary Election held on 17 August 2015 was anchored to the foundations laid for the Presidential Election in January this year. Operational security from an information and communications perspective was radically different to the context in January. As subsequent reports have shown, the intelligence services, military and Police under former President Mahinda Rajapaksa had invested heavily in surveillance infrastructure to contain, control and censor information, including around elections. CMEV’s info-sec (information security) and op-sec (operational security) considerations in August were not hostage to these same considerations and were thus re-engineered to be less around secure and resilient communications, and more around information dissemination.

Platforms and apps
As has always been the case, CMEV’s central hub remains its website where press releases, statements, communiques, infographics and mainstream media coverage of operations and output were added on a daily basis in the lead up to the election, as well as on election day. Leading up to and on election day, CMEV’s website saw a surge in traffic. On election day, the website was viewed over 1,300 times. Designed to be resilient against denial of service attacks as well as traffic spikes (hosted on WordPress.com) CMEV’s website – the only fully responsive website of an election monitoring body in Sri Lanka (rendering perfectly on whatever browser or device it is viewed on) – coped well.

Continuing what was started in January for the Presidential Election as a means of putting out information around monitoring operations even if CMEV’s website came under attack, WhatsApp was employed extensively in the lead up to and on election day. Two groups, totalling over 300 individuals from Sri Lanka and abroad received over 36 updated which included audio, text and links to documents in Sinhala, Tamil and English plus images in the form of charts and infographics. Every single update put online was sent through WhatsApp. The Sinhala civic media website Vikalpa, anchored to the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), also managed a WhatsApp based information service of its own, with its Editor – who was a CMEV monitor in Jaffna – providing updates in Sinhala throughout the day to over 100 individual subscribers.

CMEV’s Twitter account (@cmev) on election day alone published over 74 tweets. These included retweets of situation updates, engagement with other users, content and updates from CMEV plus links to pertinent news reports from the web. In contrast to the reach of CMEV’s website, CMEV’s Twitter feed alone, on election day, was read 23,534 times, over over the 7-day period ending 17 August, the account got 32,800 impressions – an average of around 5,000 impressions day. Over 230 clicked through to the web links the CMEV account tweeted, 177 retweeted our updates and 27 had favourited them. The level of engagement with CMEV’s content over social media was quantitatively and qualitatively higher than the Presidential Election in January.

In addition to CMEV, Groundviews (@groundviews) also put out updates on Twitter related to the election, complementing the output of CMEV. Whereas CMEV’s feeds stuck to information from CMEV itself or that which was from an official source, Groundviews tweeted opinion and news from other curated sources from Sri Lanka and abroad. Groundviews on Twitter over the 17 and 18 August was read over 80,000 times. Over the 7-day period ending 18 August, the account got 91,200 impressions, an average of around 19,500 a day. Also over the course of the week, 1,700 had clicked links tweeted by the account, over 360 had retweeted updates and close to a hundred had favourite them.

@CPASL, the Twitter account of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA) also pushed out over 48 tweets on election day.

It must be noted that for all the accounts above, traffic was organic – in that there was no paid advertising pushing traffic to these accounts.

In addition to Twitter, CMEV, throughout election day, put out audio updates on Soundcloud.com, which were subsequently featured on CMEV’s Facebook, Twitter and sent over WhatsApp as well. Updates were in Tamil, Sinhala and English, at around the start of polling, mid-day and once polls closed. On the 17th alone, over 370 listened to these updates.

CMEV’s Facebook page, on which all output from CMEV is featured along with curated content from other official sources, saw a surge in traffic over the week. Reaching over 15,200 accounts, over 4,500 ‘liked’ the page in the course of the week. Engagement with content on the page was also very high, with over 1,000 fans commenting on, liking or sharing the content published by CMEV. Organic readership on the 17th was exceeded 2,000.

Continuing a tri-lingual campaign to encourage the exercise of franchise particularly amongst first time voters and those between 18 – 24 in particular, Groundviews, CPA and CMEV as well as Maatram (CPA’s Tamil language civic media eco-system) and Vikalpa re-featured the #iwillvote campaign across all web properties as well as, on the morning of the election, through an email sent to around 8,000 subscribers. The Editor of Groundviews Sanjana Hattotuwa posted an image at 7.12am on Groundviews noting that he had voted, using the virality of selfies particularly amongst the target demographic to promote the exercise of franchise. At 6.30am, the campaign was published over social media and sent out over email. By mid-day, this had resulted in hundreds uploading to Instagram, Facebook and Twitter images they had taken after voting. Though less in number overall than on the 8th of January, the #iwillvote hashtag was re-ignited independent of CPA/CMEV/Groundviews, demonstrating the interest in the larger community around voter mobilisation through online and social media channels. The use of #iwillvote’s images (copyright free in tri-lingual) also reinforced the enduring validity of the campaign launched by CPA earlier this year.

General observations around social media
In addition to the information eco-systems of CPA, Groundviews, CMEV, Maatram and Vikalpa – reaching hundreds of thousands – the larger social media ecosystems around the Parliamentary Election is worth further study. Snapshots of this landscape on and leading up to election day follows.

For the first time, Facebook encouraged all its users based in Sri Lanka to update their status messages around the election. While opt-in (users could choose to ignore the Facebook prompt) this move by Facebook around voter mobilisation resulted in thousands updating their Facebook status to reflect the fact they were going to vote, had voted and various shades of political opinion. The status message also linked to the Election Department’s official website, which promptly crashed on account of the traffic. While re-instated later in the day, the engineering into such a critical website – which has repeatedly gone down at every single major election – remains hugely suspect and in need of urgent reform. Most citizens were delivered information around the results of the Parliamentary Elections via SMS news services or election results dashboards set up on private media websites, in addition to of course radio and TV broadcasts.

Another key feature around the Parliamentary Elections was the use of Facebook in particular to promote candidates and political parties through individual accounts (i.e. through voluntary disclosure and without paid advertising). Many on Facebook used the platform to publicly reveal who they were voting for, why and encouraged others to vote for the same candidates or party. Others were more discreet and said they were voting to continue the change brought around on the 8 of January.

The open publication of political preferences – not just to Facebook friends, but as public posts anyone even without a Facebook account, or outside one’s friend’s network could see – is a major development in the discursive landscape of social media, and was reflected in updates in Sinhala and Tamil too (though your author’s primary focus was content in English). One possible reason for this is the freedom of expression, felt across the political spectrum, after the change of Presidency in January. Whereas in January there was a groundswell of opinion over social media around regime change, just a handful expressed openly the desire to be rid of the Rajapaksa’s and there was not a single update across any social media observed that to the extent evident on and around 17 August openly stated voting preferences, political opinion and political opposition.

Tacitly acknowledging the power of social media and its reach, the former President Mahinda Rajapaksa took to Twitter at 7.29 on the morning of the 18th to counter a story on AFP noting that he had conceded defeat and that his dreams of becoming PM were dashed. The story grew virally across local and international mainstream media as well as social media. @groundviews over Twitter and Facebook first tweeted Udaya Gammanpila’s Facebook update that the UPFA had lost the election, refuting directly the former President’s comment on Twitter that he couldn’t accept victory or concede defeat until the final results were officially released. This interplay of social media and web based mainstream media news resulted in heightened traffic to sites and accounts with updates around what the former President said, or didn’t say, along with others from the UPFA contradicting him or seemingly conceding defeat as well. It is unclear if TV and radio broadcasts picked up on this traffic spike. Reflecting this heightened exchange, at around 7.30am on the 18th, when official election results were trickling in, Twitter updates around the elections reached their peak. Groundviews monitored two hashtags #SLGE15 and #GenElecSL – which were by Sri Lanka’s Twitter community writ large accepted as the two ‘official’ hashtags to use around election updates. #SLGE15 at around 7.30am was peaking at around 9 tweets a minute. #GenElecSL at around 24 tweets a minute. As long as Groundviews has archived public tweets around events in Sri Lanka (Twitter Q&A, UN debates, elections) this was the most amount of tweets ever published in the same span of time.

Social media – Facebook and Twitter in particular – were also used to fan discord and sow unrest by spreading false rumours. The LTTE and UNP were frequently joined, and others claimed the result of the election was “an international conspiracy”. Yet others on Twitter said the new Government would lead to Eelam’s fruition, and many published derogatory comments about Ranil Wickremesinghe, the Leader of UNP, and surprisingly, also on President Sirisena. Given reports that former President Mahinda Rajapaksa employed vast numbers of individuals in strategic, carefully planned media operations including over social media to construct his image, and shape the discourse (including by planting false information and rumours), the effect of these disinformation and misinformation was minimal. One reason for this could be, as noted early, the opening up of the discursive spaces online resulting in the former President’s modus operandi – controlling the meta-narrative in a tightly censored space – falling apart. With hundreds of independent voices all publishing at the same time and calling to question the record of the former President and those in his government, attempts to incite hatred and the use of incendiary language did not have the same impact as intended, and would have been possible under a repressive political context.

Overall, the information and communications operations of CMEV, complemented by the updates put out by Groundviews, Maatram, Vikalpa and CPA itself, remain unparalleled. From field based information gathering to communicating in real time to CMEV’s HQ, from the use of social media to the coverage CMEV operations received across Tamil, Sinhala and English mainstream print media – including the international press – was qualitatively and quantitatively more than the Presidential Election. CMEV’s information generation, dissemination and storage remains a model for other electoral processes to emulate, especially those operating in austere, censorious and authoritarian contexts.

All CMEV output is in the public domain, and copyright free.

Parliamentary General Election 2015: Interim Report

Download this report as a PDF here.

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Profile of Major Incidents

At the end of the campaign on August 14th, 2015, CMEV received 810 complaints of which 143 were classified as Major.  Of the latter category, Murder was recorded at 04, Hurt at 05, Grievous Hurt at 03, Assaults at 46, Threat and Intimidation at 08, Misuse of State Resources at 47, Robbery at 01, Arson at 16, Abduction at 02, Damage to Property at 10 and an incident of Bribery. In 12 incidents the use of firearms was recorded. Of the latter, the UNP was identified as the alleged perpetrator in 03 incidents, the SLMC in 01 and in the rest, the alleged perpetrator has not been identified.

Of the Major Incidents, 07 occurred in the Batticaloa Polling Division, 05 in Mannar, 05 in Jaffna and 05 in Minuwangoda.  In the incidents where the perpetrator has been identified, the UPFA has been named in 49 incidents, the UNP in 38, ITAK in 08, EPDP in 06, the SLMC in 08 and the AITC in 01.

Trends

Four (04) Murders have marred the election campaign, which has otherwise recorded incidents of violence of a relatively low scale and intensity in comparison to the past.  As shown in the graph below the percentage proportion of Major Incidents of the total of those reported throughout the campaign is 17% as opposed to 45%, 56% and 54% in the 2010 Presidential and General Election campaigns and the 2015 Presidential Election campaign, respectively.

Picture1

CMEV monitors have reported on the enabling political environment for campaigning and political discussion and about the space and freedom for action without interference on the part of the Election Commissioner and the Police. Both have acted to ensure adherence to the election laws, though there have been complaints about the lack of clarity and consistency with regard to implementation and in some cases the ad hoc nature of such.  CMEV notes too that the strict adherence to existing election laws in respect of posters, could in practice work to the disadvantage of first time candidates and those with less resources to resort to advertisements on the electronic media.  According to the Police, 790 suspects have been arrested with regard to election violence and violations of election laws. CMEV has details of 382 arrests as follows:

District No. of Arrested Persons Police Division No. of Arrested Persons
Colombo 40 Galle 33
Kaluthara 32 Matara 20
Gampaha 26 Hambantota 10
Mahanuwara 05 Monaragala 01
Matale 05 Badulla 31
Nuwaraeliya 08 Digamadulla 30
Ratnapura 18 Batticaloa 03
Kegalle 19 Trincomalee 08
Anuradapura 11 Jaffna 05
Polonnaruwa 20 Vanni 02
Kurunegala 21 Puttalam 34

*Kurunegala Police Division did not revealed information related to arrests

Presidential Election 2015: Statement at the Conclusion of Polling 8th January 2015

Download this as a PDF in English here.

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CMEV deployed a total of approximately 4,500 monitors in the field, in polling stations and in mobile teams in the 2015 Presidential Election. On Election Day, CMEV recorded 223 incidents with 101 major incidents and 122 minor incidents. Out of the 223 incidents CMEV documented 124 incidents against the ruling UPFA with unknown actors cited as the alleged perpetrator in 81 incidents. Out of the major incidents, six incidents related to assault and six were of threat and intimidation. Election day witnessed several other incidents of election related violations including electioneering and misuse of state resources with most violations attributed to government politicians and supporters.

Notwithstanding the above and the incidents in the campaign noted below, CMEV believes that the voting in this Presidential Election was not significantly distorted by violence and malpractice and we salute our fellow citizens for ensuring this.

Turnout was relatively high reflecting the level of interest in the election despite the short campaign period. There were challenges however, that impacted the ability of some voters to freely exercise their franchise. For instance, on Election day, CMEV also raised concerns with the Commissioner of Elections about of an estimated 6,000 eligible voters in Puttalam being unable to travel to Mannar to vote. The inability to address this issue resulted in a significant population being deprived of their constitutional right to the franchise and is indicative of the political thuggery embedded in our political culture and practice. CMEV received reports as well of voters having to mark their ballots in full view of election officials and others.

The Northern Province witnessed a number of attempts to impact voter turnout on Election Day through intimidation, threats and confusing messages. The call for a boycott and attempts to discourage voting for the common opposition candidate through the circulation of unsolicited text messages and handbills, all contributed to a charged and confused environment. This coupled with two explosions – one each in Jaffna and Vavuniya, respectively, may have impacted the relatively lower turnout than expected in these districts.

The pre election report released by CMEV on 6 January 2015, raised concerns about shortcomings in the postal voting process, the role of the military in particular in the intimidation of voters and the unprecedentedly large- scale abuse of state property including the employment of the state –controlled media, even after the end of the official campaign period and on polling day, for relentless government propaganda. CMEV welcomed several court orders against perpetrators of election violence, but is dismayed that no one has yet to be held to account. The campaign witnessed several instances where CMEV monitors were threatened and attacked, human rights defenders and media activists threatened. This election, although not seen as one of the most violent in recent history, witnessed attacks against election officials by supporters of ministers, which CMEV condemned and called for swift action in respect of.

CMEV takes this opportunity to commend the decisive action taken by the Commissioner for Elections, Mahinda Deshapriya to insist on a correction on air by Rupavahini to a false news item broadcast this morning, claiming that UNP Deputy Leader Sajith Premadasa had joined the Government.

The Commissioner of Elections issued a number of instructions prior to voting day in order to minimise abuses of electoral law. Furthermore, recognising international standards on the important role election monitors can play in increasing transparency and public confidence in the electoral process, Mr. Deshapriya granted election monitoring organisations the opportunity to monitor the counting process for the first time in Sri Lanka.

Whilst CMEV notes the constructive responses of the Commissioner and his officials on a number of occasions, we also note that there were instances where our efforts to monitor the process were thwarted. On Election Day, CMEV was unable to access two polling centres – one each in Kalutara and Matara, respectively. When apprised of this, the Commissioner of Elections remedied the anomalies. CMEV places on record its appreciation of the Commissioner’s response and looks forward to similar constructive engagement in the future.

In this context, CMEV reiterates the need for independent institutions including independent commissions for elections, police and public services, underscoring the need for constitutional and legal reform to ensure the integrity of the electoral process.

We conclude this report by thanking the Commissioner of Elections and the Police for the cooperation extended to CMEV, and very especially to our monitors and the public for their steadfast commitment and support which made our monitoring exercise possible.