GA briefs officials on Vanni voting arrangements

[TamilNet, Sunday, 28 March 2004, 05:43 GMT]
Essential facilities, including transport, have been arranged for the voters in the Liberation Tigers controlled areas of Vavuniya, Mannar and Mullaithivu to vote in clustered polling stations in the areas controlled by the Sri Lanka Army, and the Omanthai check point will stay open starting at 4:00 am on election day, April 2, until all the voters can return to their homes in the LTTE-controlled areas, said the Returning Officer and Government Agent for Vavuniya, Mr. K. Ganesh, at a special meeting Saturday.

Mr. Ganesh chaired the meeting Saturday morning at the District Secretariat in Vavuniya to explain the preparations made for the elections.

Eighty clustered polling stations in Omanthai, Uyilankulam, Vannamoddai and Madhu road junction, will be constructed for the 80,819 voters in the LTTE-controlled areas of the Vanni.

For the 66,006 voters in Mullaithivu and Vavuniya North, 61 polling stations in Omanthai, and for the 12699 voters in the Omanthai area, a separate polling station will be constructed in Omanthai.



S.Elilan - LTTE's Vavuniya district Political head Thangiah of the LTTE's Administrative Division are seen at the meeting.



For the 3305 voters in the Madhu Assistant Government Agent’s division, 4 polling stations will be constructed close to the Madhu road junction.

The voters in remote areas of Mullaithivu, who will be visiting the Central School in Omanthai in vehicles for voting, will not be stopped and asked to alight from the vehicles at the Omanthai SLA checkpoint, the GA said. The voters will be taken directly to the polling stations.



T.Sitharthan, Leader of PLOTE with his assistant at the meeting.



But these voters will not be allowed to visit Vavuniya town or the South of Sri Lanka. They will be asked to return to their homes immediately and vehicles will be arranged.

Meanwhile, the normal traffic through the Omanthai checkpoint will be stopped between the afternoon of April 1 and the morning of April 3. On April 2nd, only voters will be allowed to travel through the checkpoints.

The Uyilankulam and Madhur road checkpoints in the Mannar district will be open from 5:00 am to 5:00 pm on April 2 for voters, but no other traffic will be allowed.



Mr.Premaratne Sumathipala, leading candidate of PA is seen with the EPDP candidate.



The political parties and independent groups contesting the elections in Vanni attended the meeting.

The Mannar district GA, Mr. V. Visvalingam, Mullaithivu district GA, Ms. Imelda Sukumar, Vanni Security forces commander, Maj. Gen. Sisira Wijesuriya, the Vanni Deputy Inspector General of Police, Mr. B. Beddewela, the Senior Superintendent of Police in Vavuniya, Mr. T.T.Miskin, the political head of the LTTE in Vavuniya,. Mr. S. Ezhilan, and the LTTE’s administrative division officer Mr. Thangaiah, and other police and SLA officers participated at the meeting.

Also in attendance were Mr. Harris Julian, head of the ICRC for the Vavuniya division, Mr.Olhagen Johan, Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission’s Head of Vavuniya District, and Mr.Germain Calleja and Mr.Nicolaas Wesselingh, Long term election observers of the European Union’s Election Observation Mission.



Mrs.Emilda Sugumar, GA Mullaithivu, Mr.Harris Julian, ICRC Head of Vavuniya Sub Division, Mr.Olhagen Johan, SLMM Head of Vavuniya District, Mr.Nicolaas Wesselingh and Mr.Germain Calleja, Long term election observers of the EU Election Observation Mission and the Representative from the CMEV the local monitoring mission are seen in the meeting.





From the left - SSP Mr.T.T.Miskin, Mr.B.Beddewela the DIG Vanni, Mr.K.Ganesh the GA Vavuniya, Vanni Commandar Major General S.Wijesooriya, Mr.V.Visvalingam the GA Mannar are at the meeting.