Polling begins in Jaffna MC, Vavuniyaa UC

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 August 2009, 07:29 GMT]
Polling began Saturday morning at 7:00 a.m to twenty three members of the Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) and eleven members to the Vavuniyaa Urban Council (VUC) in the Northern Province and will close at 4:00 p.m. Results are expected to be announced at midnight. “We have deployed more than one thousand two hundred police personnel at all polling stations in the JMC and VUC. Mobile police patrolling is also being done in the two local bodies, “said Mr. Nimal Lewke, Deputy Inspector General of Police, for the northern province at a media briefing in Vavuniyaa.
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UPFA alleged of malpractice in JMC election

[TamilNet, Saturday, 08 August 2009, 07:20 GMT]
Independent Groups contesting Jaffna Municipal Council Election alleged ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) supporters of engaging in malpractice as voters began casting their votes from Saturday 7:00 a.m, sources in Jaffna said. UPFA supporters were seen persuading the voters going to the polling centres offering them polling cards printed in the form of small handbills with the betel symbol of the UPFA, the sources added.
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SL parliament extends Emergency for another month

[TamilNet, Thursday, 06 August 2009, 16:01 GMT]
Sri Lanka parliament Thursday adopted a motion to extend the State of Emergency for another month by a majority of sixty four votes. Seventy one Parliamentarians of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA), Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) voted for the motion. Seven Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarians voted against the motion.
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Southern PC dissolved, election in October

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 04 August 2009, 16:24 GMT]
The Southern Provincial Council has been dissolved with effect from midnight Monday yesterday. Governor of the Southern Provincial Council Ms. Kumari Balasooriya dissolved the Council using the powers vested in her and the relevant gazette had been sent to the Government Printer at the time this edition went to press.
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President Rajapakse will give nothing to Tamils – Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam

[TamilNet, Sunday, 02 August 2009, 06:49 GMT]
“Tamils should be vigilant of Sri Lanka's President Mahinda Rajapakse’s intentions. He says that there is no minority race in the country but only a majority race. It is clear that his intention is to assimilate the Tamil race into the Majority Sinhala race in Sri Lanka,” Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna district parliamentarian, told TamilNet Saturday in an interview in Jaffna.
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Ruling party supporters confiscate voting cards in Jaffna – TNA

[TamilNet, Saturday, 01 August 2009, 17:11 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna district parliamentarian Suresh Premachandran alleged that the ruling party contestants in Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) election had forcibly confiscated more than 1500 voting cards from residents in Kozhumpuththu’rai, Ariyaalai and Eachchamoaddai area in Jaffna, in a press meet held in his Jaffna office Saturday. TNA parliamentarians Gejendrakumar Ponnambalam and Solomon Cyril along with Thamizharsuk Kadchi (TK) chief candidate Mudiyappu Remedias attended the press meet.
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TNA accuses government of using state resources in JMC election campaign

[TamilNet, Monday, 27 July 2009, 16:36 GMT]
Ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) conducted Sunday a large scale procession of vehicles organized by Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) in Jaffna town in which more than a thousand supporters participated, canvassing people to vote for the Betel symbol of UPFA, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which has also entered into the fray, accused UPFA and its ally EPDP of using government vehicles for election campaign. TNA also accused the police for being partial to UPFA in carrying out duties related to Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) election, the sources added.
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JMC election candidates complain of police malpractice

[TamilNet, Sunday, 26 July 2009, 13:01 GMT]
Candidates contesting Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) election raised complaints about police and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) in Jaffna assisting ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) persons pasting election campaign wall posters displaying the images of President Mahinda Rajapakse and Minister Douglas Devananda even during SLA imposed curfew hours in Jaffna town, in a meeting held by police authorities in Jaffna Sunday at Vembadi Girls’ College in Jaffna to discuss security arrangements for the contestants, sources in Jaffna said.
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Galle MC opposition leader shot dead

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 22 July 2009, 08:34 GMT]
Unknown gunmen riding on a motor cycle shot and killed Galle Municipal Council opposition leader (UNP) Dushantha Senaviratne Wednesday morning around 7:00 a.m. while he was on his way to a shop nearby his residence at Bellgaha Kandiya in Galle town, Police said. The UNP had selected Mr. Seneviratne to contest in the forthcoming Southern Provincial Council election, party sources told TamilNet.
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Police force public to attend UPFA election office opening in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 July 2009, 14:17 GMT]
Sri Lanka Police brought in their vehicles ten persons each from their local areas in Jaffna peninsula whom they had summoned to the police stations through the respective Village Officers, to the official opening of the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) election office in Jaffna, Sunday around 9:30 a.m, sources in Jaffna said. Meanwhile, Minister Douglas Devananda, leader of Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP), an ally of UPFA, was a notable absentee in the event held in the newly opened UPFA election office located on Somasuntharam Veethi, Chu’ndikkuzhi, Jaffna, the sources added.
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Awakening North, an election gimmick? - Sunday Leader

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 July 2009, 11:37 GMT]
Noting that the loan scheme announced by the Sri Lanka Government to Northern small scale enterprises while soliciting donations for the diaspora for refugee relief, exposed the scarcity of funds to support Jaffna loans, an article in Sunday Leader, said that the loan announcement is likely an election ploy to woo Jaffna voters towards the ruling UPFA. Questioning the motives for recent actions by the Central Bank in not revealing the details of IMF Article IV consultation report, and suspending publication of weekly economic indicators, the article said the reluctance of the Government to set free the screened IDPs in the internment camps is likely driven by the need to mobilize "humanitarian aid from the donors and donations from the diaspora to bolster the foreign currency reserves of the government."
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Free election in Jaffna improbable – Manickasothy

[TamilNet, Sunday, 19 July 2009, 04:31 GMT]
Abimanasingham Manickasothy, the chief candidate of the Independent Group II contesting Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) election, told TamilNet Saturday that with the paramilitary groups operating with the government blatantly breaching election regulations with the blessing of Sri Lanka Army (SLA) and the police by intimidating and issuing death threats voters will not be free to cast their votes to the candidates of their choice. Despite the promise of Jaffna district Senior Superintendent of Police (SSP) to remove all wall posters, paramilitaries, alleged to be allied with the government, paste election campaign posters of the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) during curfew hours in places where the SLA is present, flouting election regulations, Manickasothy added.
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People in Jaffna live in fear – Suresh Premachandra

[TamilNet, Saturday, 18 July 2009, 07:32 GMT]
“The people in Jaffna live in fear of the government armed forces and the paramilitary groups operating with them. They are scared to air their views or to openly participate in election related activities,” Suresh Premachandran, Tamil National Alliance (TNA) Jaffna district parliamentarian, told TamilNet in a special interview Friday in Jaffna. “Though government ministers invading Jaffna continue to offer promises to the people of Jaffna they cannot be deceived as they fully well know that the promises will not be kept because the government does not have the money to fulfill the promises,” he further said.
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Police, SLA partial to UPFA in JMC election

[TamilNet, Thursday, 16 July 2009, 04:39 GMT]
Political parties and Independent groups contesting the forthcoming Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) elections accused the police and Sri Lanka Army (SLA) for being partial to United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and Eelam People’s Democratic Party (EPDP) in the issue of campaign wall posters, sources in Jaffna said. Though the police authorities had banned all wall posters and had ordered the removal of the posters, the police and the SLA had only torn and tarred the posters of Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) and Thamizh Arasuk Kadchi (TAK) political parties, leaving the UPFA posters untouched, the sources added.
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SL minister promises to fulfill President Rajapakse’s dream, in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 14 July 2009, 15:14 GMT]
”President Mahinda Rajapakse’s present dream is to make goods available to Jaffna people at reasonable Colombo prices”, Minister of Electricity and Energy, Aluthananda Gamage, said in an event held at Nalloor Divisional Secretariat Tuesday, sources in Jaffna said. The visiting minister, accompanied by Minister Douglas Devananda, further promised that steps would be taken before 1st August to fulfill President Rajapakse’s dream, the sources added.
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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.
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CPC seeks extension of Rajapakse’s presidency without election

[TamilNet, Thursday, 09 July 2009, 05:32 GMT]
The ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Tuesday tabled a motion in the monthly meeting of the Central Provincial Council (CPC), to extend the current term of President Mahinda Rajapakse for another five years without holding fresh presidential election. Councillors of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) walked out of the meeting stating that the council should not take this motion for debate. The debate on the motion has been put off for another date, media sources said.
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Second election related violence reported in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 July 2009, 05:07 GMT]
Unidentified armed men on motorcycles followed the Thamizharasuk Kadchi party contestant in the forthcoming Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) elections and forcibly took away Tuesday the wall posters and handbills from him at gunpoint at Hospital Road-Old Railway Station Road junction in Jaffna, an area guarded by Sri Lanka Army (SLA) soldiers day and night, according to the complaint made to Jaffna Election Officer. Meanwhile, Sunday night, on ‘Black Tigers Day’, unknown persons had smashed the temporary election office of the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) located near Jaffna Bishop’s House in Kurunakar, sources in Jaffna said.
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SL parliament extends Emergency for another month

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 08 July 2009, 04:40 GMT]
Sri Lanka’s parliament Tuesday adopted a motion to extend the State of Emergency for another month by a majority of ninety two votes. One hundred and three parliamentarians voted for the motion. Only eleven members of the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) voted against. The Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), Ceylon Workers Congress (CWC) and National Freedom Front (NFF), a splinter group of the JVP voted with ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA).
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SL Minister participates in Jaffna Technical College event

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 07 July 2009, 09:12 GMT]
With Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) election in a month’s time, Sri Lanka government ministers and its key officials continue to visit Jaffna in an effort to gather support to the ruling United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) candidates in Jaffna and Minister Piyasena Gamage was in Jaffna Monday to participate in an event at Jaffna Technical College (JTC) related to the governments ‘180 Day Programme’ under its much publicized ‘Spring of the North’ project, sources in Jaffna said.
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