Polling to elect a new parliament in Sri Lanka opened Wednesday with the voters showing a keen interest to take part in elections, after more violent incidents and four more election deaths were reported overnight, officials said. Polling commenced at 7 am, 0630 hrs IST on Wednesday under a tight security cover with some 40,000 policemen deployed for election duty and army units kept standby if necessary to quell any violence. Polling closes at 4 pm, 0330 hrs IST. Election officials said voters were showing a keen interest to cast their vote in most parts of the country with some lining up to vote even before the polling commenced.
The elections are being held island-wide, except in areas controlled by Tamil rebels in parts of the north and eastern Sri Lanka, at over 9,500 polling booths. Over 12.4 million persons are eligible to vote members to the 225 seat parliament. Both the ruling People`s Alliance (PA) and the main opposition United National Party (UNP) which are the main contenders have expressed concern about violence and malpractice affecting the outcome.
President Chandrika Kumaratunga who also heads the PA in an address to the nation over state radio called for free and fair elections, but has expressed concern about the possibility of the opposition influencing the police in favour of them.
The main opposition UNP has expressed similar concerns claiming that the ruling party may make use of the police and soldiers to create violence, scare off voters and rig the elections. The counting in Sri Lanka`s parliamentary elections is expected to commence after 8 pm (1400 GMT) and the first results are scheduled after midnight Wednesday.
Bureau Report