Consultation for Policy Brief on Political Rights of Persons with Disabilities- Hambanthota District Discussion

Posted on by in Situation Updates.

CMEV has been engaging in various initiatives of empowering disability organizations to achieve the rights related to voting and political representation of persons with disabilities in Sri Lanka, with special emphasis to voting rights of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and to create an inclusive discourse with that regard, ensuring that the popular disability related slogan ‘’’Nothing about us without us’’ is given its true meaning. To this effect, CMEV has been conducting a series of programs aimed at the realization of political / voting rights of PwDs, in parallel with both National level Elections held in 2015 as well.

As a part of the newest chapter of the said initiatives, the fourth consultative discussion was held on the 02nd February   2017 in partnership with the Election Commission of Sri Lanka and the Navajeewana, Tangalle.

Key representatives of DPOs in Southern Province took part in this occasion. The Additional Commissioner of the Election Commission of Sri Lanka Mr. Saman Ratnayake, who has been appointed as the focal point to identify and resolve disability-related issues in the electoral process, also   attended this event as the main resource person, representing the Election Commission.  Mr. R.S. Wedage,  Assistant Commissioner of Election Commission, Hambanthota District also participated in this event.  Hashanie Chithranganie, Researcher of CMEV and Janitha Rukmal , Researcher of CMEV also addressed the gathering.  National Coordinator of CMEV Manjula Gajanayake was the facilitator of the event.

Consultation for the Policy Brief on Political Rights of Persons with Disabilities- Galle district discussion

Posted on by in Situation Updates.

CMEV has been engaging in various initiatives of empowering disability organizations to achieve their political rights, with special emphasis to voting rights of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and to create an inclusive discourse with that regard, ensuring that the popular disability related slogan ‘’’Nothing about us without us’’ is given its true meaning. To this effect, CMEV has been conducting a series of programs aimed at the realization of political / voting rights of PwDs, in parallel with both National level Elections held in 2015 as well.

As a part of the newest chapter of the said initiatives, the second consultative discussion was held on the 25th of January in partnership with the Election Commission of Sri Lanka and the FRIDSRO. Key representatives of DPOs in Northern Province took part in this occasion.

The Additional Commissioner of the Election Commission of Sri Lanka Mr. Saman Sri Ratnayake attended this event as the main resource person, representing the Election Commission.  Mr. Bimal De Silva, Deputy Commissioner of Election Commission of Sri Lanka attended representing District Election offices of Galle and Programme Director of FRIDSRO Sri Lanka Ms. Kumudu Herath National and Co-founder of Enable Lanka Foundation Janith Rukmal also addressed the gathering.  National Co-ordinator of CMEV Manjula Gajanayake was the facilitator of the event.

Consultation for Policy Brief on the Political Rights of Persons with Disabilities- Northern Province Discussion

Posted on by in Situation Updates.

CMEV has been engaging in various initiatives of empowering disability organizations to achieve their political rights, with special emphasis to voting rights of Persons with Disabilities (PwDs) and to create an inclusive discourse with that regard, ensuring that the popular disability related slogan ‘’’Nothing about us without us’’ is given its true meaning. To this effect, CMEV has been conducting a series of programs aimed at the realization of political / voting rights of PwDs, in parallel with both National level Elections held in 2015 as well.

As a part of the newest chapter of the said initiatives, the second consultative discussion was held on the 13th of January in partnership with the Election Commission of Sri Lanka and the Northern Province Consortium of Organization for Differently Abled (NPCODA). Key representatives of DPOs in Northern Province took part in this occasion.

The Additional Commissioner of the Election Commission of Sri Lanka Mr. Saman Ratnayake attended this event as the main resource person, representing the Election Commission. Mr. D.C. Aravindaraj, Assistant Commissioner and Mr. R.C. Amal Raaj, Assistant Commissioner attended representing District Election offices of Vavuniya and Kilinochchi respectively. National Co-ordinator of CMEV Manjula Gajanayake and Co-founder of Enable Lanka Foundation Janith Rukmal also addressed the gathering. The President of NPCODA Mr. V. Subramaniam was the facilitator of the event. The set of recommendations prepared by NPCODA in consultation with DPO’s in Northern Province, in order to facilitate voting rights of PwDs during the upcoming Local Government Election was handed over to the Assistant Election Commissioners of both Vavuniya and Kilinochchi districts.

A recap on previous elections through cartoons

Posted on by in Archives, Documents.

The two national level elections which were held in the year 2015 can be regarded as the elections which acquired the widest visibility and prominent attention in the recent past. While those elections were apparently referred to as free and fair in every sense, the enormous efforts taken by the relevant stakeholders to preserve the integrity of the said election should also be commended emphatically. The greatest visibility was received at the time with this regard was by the Department of Elections, Department of Police and the election monitoring organizations.
One of the predominantly noticeable trends throughout the period in which the said elections were held, was the inculcation of the role of the then Commissioner of Elections Mr. Mahinda Deshapriya in diverse ways by the print media through newspapers by way of cartoons. Undoubtedly, grasping the way in which the media operated during such a crucial period would be instrumental for anyone who is exploring the history of elections in Sri Lanka. In that regard, the elements reflected through the cartoons which appeared in the newspapers at the time, will provide invaluable insights to anybody who is investigating about the history of elections in Sri Lanka.

Access the contents of the book here.

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Interactive Discussion on the Regulations of Campaign Finance and the Declarations of Asset and Liabilities in Elections- Trade Union Leaders meeting

Posted on by in Situation Updates.

Contributing to the ongoing discussion on electoral reforms, the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence organised a public discussion on the regulations of campaign finance in elections and on the declarations of asset and Liabilities. The discussion was held on 29th December 2016, at Renuka City Hotel, Colombo 03.

The discussion was organised by CMEV in partnership with PAFFREL and International IDEA and a number of Trade Union Activists and Leaders attended this event. The main objective of this event was to obtain ideas of trade union leaders. Executive Director of PAFFREL – Mr. Rohana Hettiarachchi, Attorney-At- Law –  Mr. Jagath Liyanarachchi and Human Rights Activist Mr. Shan Wijethunga were resource persons of the event.

Public Discussion on the Regulations of Campaign Finance and the Declarations of Asset and Liabilities in Elections- Trincomalee District Discussion

Posted on by in Situation Updates.

Contributing to the ongoing discussion on electoral reforms the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence organised a public discussion on the regulations of campaign finance in elections and on the declarations of asset and Liabilities, held at the JKAB Park Hotel, Tricomalee on 31st  December 2016.

The discussion was organised by CMEV in partnership with the Election Commission of Sri Lanka,  Paffrel and International IDEA and a number of Civil Society and political party Representatives attended this event.

Assistant Commissioner of the Election Commission of Sri Lanka (Trincomalee)  Mr. Sajith Welgama delivered the key note speech in this event. Mr. Jagath Liyanarachchi, Attorney-At- Law, Mr. Shan Wijethunga, Human Rights Activist,  Mr. Manjula Gajanayake, National Co-ordinator, CMEV, and Mr. Sarath Gallage, Human Rights Activist were other speakers at this event.