Colombo plotting to reduce Tamil voters’ strength in North, East

[TamilNet, Thursday, 14 July 2011, 11:01 GMT]
Sri Lanka government has been executing a plot to reduce the voting strength of Tamil people in the north and east province by involving village level state officers who are designated as Grama Niladhari (GN), residents in the East say. Civil sources claimed that Colombo authorities have directed village level officers not to issue receipts to chief occupants when they collect application forms enrolling them as voters for the 2011 electoral register.

The GNs distribute forms to each household to register qualified persons as voters to be included in the 2011 elector register. The GNs go to collect these forms are now under the direction by Colombo authorities not to issue receipts to the chief occupants. If demanded receipts by the chief occupants these GNs say “your name is already registered and no need for a receipt to ensure that”.

Some voters on suspicion had gone to the District Election Office in their area to check their names in the 2011 electoral list but they found their names were missing. And they were unable to claim without receipts that they had handed over the application forms registering them as voters to the GN.

District Secretaries who are also designated as Government Agents are keeping silent when affected Tamils make complaints against this planned sabotage to reduce the voting strength of Tamil people in the province.