Voter numbers come in

[TamilNet, Thursday, 29 January 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Low polling was recorded at the local government elections held in the Jaffna peninsula with voting in the Jaffna Municipal Council dipping to 25%, said the TamilNet correspondent. Voting in the islands off the Jaffna peninsula has also been very low.

At Eluvaitheevu, of the 410 registered voters, only 222 voted; of 2050 voters in Analaitheevu, only 697 voted; in Nainatheevu 911 voters cast their votes from a total of 3697. The island of Delft fared better with 1225 voting from a total of 2752 registered voters there . In Kayts only 789 from a total of 7629 voted.

In the Point Pedro and the Valvettithurai areas it is estimated that 50 - 56% votes were cast. In the Thenmaradchi region it is estimated that 30 - 35% of the voters cast their ballot.

The voters registers were compiled in 1986 and the total number of voters today is estimated to be considerably less than what they were then. with the war and outward migration from the peninsula leading to a diminishing population.

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