General election in Jaffna was clean and fair - GA

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 07 April 2004, 20:19 GMT]
The general election held on April 2 was conducted in the Jaffna district without any irregularities, said Mr. S. Pathmanathan, the Government Agent for Jaffna and Returning Officer for the elections, according to Wednesday’s edition of the Uthayan, a Tamil newspaper published in Jaffna.

Mr. Pathmanathan was speaking at a review meeting held at the Jaffna district secretariat, where departmental heads, officers and other employees responsible for the elections were present.

“Compared to some other districts, the election-related violence and irregularities were negligible in Jaffna, and the elections were clean and fair. Although some people are complaining of irregularities at certain booths, we have not received any official complaints,” said the GA, adding that when some political parties complained to the Elections Commissioner, the Commissioner had rejected their claims.

The GA said that at the time of counting votes, some parties had intimidated some of his officers, but the officers performed their duties without failing, and he thanked all officers and other election workers for their service.

Mr. Pathmanathan also thanked the Commanding officer of the Sri Lanka Army and Police officers in Jaffna for their cooperation in successfully completing the elections, and the International and local volunteers and observers for their service.