Updated 23:45 GMT Tamils came on Thursday to cast their vote at Sri Lanka's presidential election despite grenade explosions and disruptions to transport services to polling booths. As of 4.00 pm local time, the Jaffna based newspaper Uthayan reported voter turnout as: Jaffna 61%, Vavuniya 70%, Mannar 50%, Mullaitivu 59%, Kilinochchi 66%, Trincomalee 63%, Batticaloa 55% and Amaparai 57%. Also see an election map by The Republic Square below. Earlier in the day, a hand grenade explosion was reported by Point Pedro. Further unconfirmed reports of grenade explosions were also noted. Buses due to...
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) spokesperson, Suresh Premachandran, questioned what change the election would bring for the Tamil people, stating that votes were cast merely to prevent election fraud in Tamil areas, not in any belief that the election would bring progress to the Tamil people. "Whether our problems as Tamil people will be resolved whoever of these two come to power remains an important question," Premachandran told reporters in Jaffna on Thursday, after casting his vote. "They say that if the opposition wins democracy will come to Sri Lanka however, a key question of mine is will this democracy come to the Northern province? Will that democracy stay in the South? Or will it look over at the North? Will the people here be able to live peacefully?" he asked.
The US Secretary of State John Kerry warned Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa on Tuesday to ensure today's election was "credible, peaceful and inclusive". "The United States supports a free and fair electoral process in Sri Lanka that is credible, peaceful and inclusive," State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki told journalists on Wednesday. "To that end, Secretary Kerry called the Sri Lankan President yesterday [Tuesday] to underscore the government's responsibility to ensure the January 8th elections will be free from violence and intimidation and that the vote counting is carried out credibly and transparently."
Sri Lankan police banned all demonstrations and processions for seven days following the state's presidential election on Thursday. "The decision to ban demonstrations and processions were taken to ensure law and order prevail in the country and to stop any kind of post-election violence," the police spokesperson, Ajith Rohana, was quoted by Ceylon Today as saying.
The Sri Lankan government has criticised the United Nations yet again, after the Spokesperson of the Secretary-General of the UN reiterated calls for a peaceful presidential election this week. Stéphane Dujarric, spokesperson for the Secretary-General, had said in his press briefing on Monday, “Obviously, we've seen the recent events in Sri Lanka, even those today, and I think it makes the Secretary-General's call for reconciliation, political dialogue that much more important and also his call to the Government to ensure that the elections are peaceful and that they're inclusive, including for minorities.”
Astrologers in Sri Lanka face a nervous time ahead of tomorrow's presidential polls, with worries of repercussions for failed predictions of victory for incumbent Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa. Speaking to the New York Times Sumanadasa Abeygunawardena told of the hazardous task he has as Rajapaksa's “royal astrologer”. Rajapaksa is known to be a strong believer in astrology, frequently seeking the advice of astrologers on a range of issues (see here and here ). He recently announced that the Sri Lankan Treasury would provide modern computer technology to a group of astrologers, in order to assist with their predictions.
The ongoing repression of the Tamil people will continue regardless of which candidate wins the upcoming Sri Lankan presidential election, said documentary maker Callum Macrae in an opinion piece on Wednesday. Writing for Channel 4 News, Macrae said, “[Rajapaksa's] message to the Sinhala majority is designed to reinforce their conviction that Sri Lanka is a Sinhala nation, indivisible - and that the Tamils of the north and east must accept that, or have that forced upon them.”
Sri Lanka's military on Wednesday denied any involvement in election activities amid reports of soldiers being deployed to deter Tamils from voting. "At the request of Returning Officers the votes of the citizens living in islands off the mainland will be transported by the Navy, and if due to some constraint that an aerial assistance be needed, then the Air Force will be utilised," the military spokesperson, Brigadier Ruwan Wanigasooriya said, reports Colombo Page . "Other than that there is no any participation of military personnel in the Election," he said. Election officials however, are...
Amnesty International, in a statement released a day before Sri Lanka's presidential election on January 8, condemned death threats issued to three prominent opposition campaigners. "The Sri Lankan authorities must hold to account those who threatened three prominent opposition activists with death today and ensure that tomorrow’s presidential election passes without further violence," Amnesty International said, noting that the threats came after severed heads of dogs were placed outside the homes of the campaigners earlier this week, in an apparent warning to them. Amnesty International’s Deputy Asia Pacific Director David Griffiths said: “These death threats against activists who have been peacefully defending human rights are utterly deplorable.
The New York based rights group, Human Rights Watch, called on Sri Lankan authorities to ensure the presidential election on Thursday occurs without voter intimidation or violence, warning of the possibility of violence continuing after the election, particularly in the Tamil areas. "There are also serious concerns about violence after the elections, regardless of the outcome. The Election Commission and other relevant authorities need to ensure that police and other security forces act in an impartial manner and respect the human rights of the population. This is especially true in the ethnic-Tamil dominated north and east of the country and other minority areas," HRW added in a statement.