UPFA involved in obvious breach of election regulations in Jaffna - TNA

[TamilNet, Monday, 13 July 2009, 05:07 GMT]
“The ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and its allied parties using great number of vehicles in election campaign in Jaffna and that too guarded by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and the police is an obvious breach of election regulations,” Mudiyappu Remedias, the chief contestant of Tamil National Alliance (TNA), said in a meeting held Sunday morning at Vembadi Girls’ College in Jaffna by SLA and police authorities with the representatives of the parties contesting the forthcoming Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) elections. The meeting was convened to discuss arrangements to offer protection to the contestants, sources in Jaffna said.

“Pasting campaign posters on the walls in Jaffna town is an obvious breach of election regulations and these posters should be removed within 24 hours,” Manickasothy, the chief contestant of the Independent Group requested in the meeting.

Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP), Roshan Fernando and SLA Civil Administrative Officer, Major. Nisanka among other officials were present in the meeting where the contestants expressed their accusations.

The ruling UPFA and its allied Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) led by Minister Douglas Devananda are actively engaged in election campaign while the TNA is yet to engage in election campaign in a big scale.

Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) led by V. Anandasagarai complained in the Sunday meeting that their wall posters had been torn away during nights.

Meanwhile, police were engaged in covering the wall posters pasted in Jaffna town with black paint Sunday but the wall posters which read, ‘This is our country, This is our President’, with the images of President Mahinda Rajapakse and Minister Douglas Devananda, were not covered with black paint but left untouched.

However, the contesting parties said that the wall poster with the President and Douglas Devananda is also an election campaign tactic.

Minister Douglas Devananda is actively engaged in spearheading development projects in Jaffna town launched by the government in an effort to win the JMC election, the sources said.