The European Union Election Observation Mission to Sri Lanka has praised the way the elections in Sri Lanka were conducted, but said an ally of the ruling UNP was behind violent incidents in the North-East and expressed criticism on issues of campaigning freedoms, representation of women and media ownership, in their preliminary statement.

In the Northern Province, the ACMC, an ally of the ruling UNP, is confirmed to have been behind violent incidents against competitors. There were also several reports of intimidation and obstruction of campaign activities at Kayts Island, part of the Jaffna electoral district, the EU further said.

The mission noted that although freedom of assembly and movement were respected in the run up to the election, overly restrictive rules curbed freedom of campaigning. Powers given to the Election Commissioner, who administered the elections in a "transparent and impartial manner", challenged media freedoms, including his ability to order state-owned media outlets to halt broadcasts.

"Violation of these directives constituted an offence punishable with fines and even imprisonment. At times, such decisions were vague and impracticable and were issued on an ad-hoc basis," the mission said.

The statement further noted that although women make up 51% of the electorate, only 9% of candidates were female.

The mission's preliminary results indicated that state TV channels gave preferential treatment to the UNP, but welcomed "the accommodation of a plurality of viewpoints and the move towards balanced coverage". However the ownership and management of several private broadcast and print outlets is "politicised", the mission further said, adding that this lead to coverage favouring particular candidates and parties, thus "undermining the principles of balance and impartiality".