TNA censures SL President over ministerial post to EPDP

[TamilNet, Friday, 16 April 2004, 14:55 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance parliamentary group Friday censured the action of Sri Lanka's President, Ms. Chandrika Kumaratunge, in appointing a person rejected by the Tamil people in the April 2nd poll in charge of a ministry important to Tamils, disregarding the overwhelming mandate obtained by the TNA for the establishment of the Interim Self Governing Authority in the Northeast, TNA sources said.
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"International community accepts LTTE as Tamils’ saviour”-Gajendran

[TamilNet, Thursday, 15 April 2004, 15:24 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian from the Jaffna district, Mr.S.Gajendran, said Thursday that the international community has accepted that the Liberation Tigers’ military wing safeguards and protects the Tamil people. "Because of this," said the TNA MP, "the international community remained silent, watching the events that took place when the LTTE launched its military operation to retrieve the areas from its renegade commander ('Karuna')."
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Post election violence continues in Jaffna islets

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 14 April 2004, 16:15 GMT]
Violence is on the increase in the islets of Jaffna district after the general election held on April 2. Several people were injured in clashes that took place on the Tamil-Sinhala New Year Day (April 13) at Thambatti area in Kayts between members of public and the paramilitary Eelam People's Democratic party (EPDP), police said
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Attempts to avert major showdown between JVP-SLFP

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 13 April 2004, 07:33 GMT]
Sri Lanka's President Ms Chandrika Kumaratunge has appointed a five-member committee with the Prime Minister Mr.Mahinda Rajapakse at the helm in a bid to resolve the crisis within the recently formed United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government following differences between the major constituents, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), political sources said.
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JHU rejects Peace Process, Norway Facilitation

[TamilNet, Sunday, 11 April 2004, 13:31 GMT]
"We totally reject the present peace process as we believe it will only lead to the division of this country. We also reject the facilitation of Norway because it is partial towards the LTTE," said Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) Propaganda Secretary Ven. Uduwe Dhammaloka Thera while outlining the basis of his party's position in backing the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government, in an interview that appeared in today's weekly Sunday Times in Colombo.


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JVP boycotts UPFA cabinet swearing in ceremony

[TamilNet, Saturday, 10 April 2004, 13:41 GMT]
The first cabinet of the United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance (UPFA) government was sworn in Saturday evening in the President’s House with no live coverage by the State electronic media. The leaders and ministers designate of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), major constituent of the UPFA, boycotted the event due to differences of opinion over the allocation of subjects to ministries designated for them, informed political sources in Colombo said.


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Mystery armed men attack TNA supporters in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Friday, 09 April 2004, 17:56 GMT]
Mystery gangs comprising armed men are allegedly assaulting and intimidating active supporters of the Tamil National Alliance in the Jaffna district, especially in the Vadamarachchi north division, following the victory of the TNA at the last general election, civil sources complained Friday.
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EPDP cadres threaten LTTE political activists in Naranthanai

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 April 2004, 13:44 GMT]
The Jaffna office of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission (SLMM) Sunday received a complaint that the paramilitary Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) activists at gunpoint had intimidated the political head of the Liberation Tigers in the Islands, Mr.C.Arunthavam, and his associates, sources said.
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EPDP Pungudutivu office burnt down by residents

[TamilNet, Monday, 05 April 2004, 13:37 GMT]
A political office of the para military Eelam Peoples' Democratic Party (EPDP) located in Perunkattu junction in the Pungudutivu village was burnt down on Saturday night allegedly by residents of the area. The office was functioning in the area with the security provided by the Sri Lanka Army and the Police, sources said.


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TNA becomes third largest party in Sri Lanka’s 13th parliament

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 April 2004, 15:17 GMT]
The United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) Sunday evening emerged as the single largest party in the Sri Lanka’s thirteenth 225-member parliament with 105 seats and United National Party (UNP) with 82 seats. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) which won four electoral districts, Jaffna, Vanni, Trincomalee and Batticaloa in the northeast province except Amparai became the third largest party in the new parliament with twenty two seats.
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Commissioner declares no re-vote as candidates claim electoral fraud

[TamilNet, Sunday, 04 April 2004, 13:54 GMT]
While there were voting irregularities observed in two districts in the South and speculation was rife that there will be revoting, the defeated V. Ananthasangaree, the controversial Leader of Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF), whose Independent group in Jaffna district garnered less than 2% of the votes and the Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) which managed to get a single seat, claimed widespread voter fraud by the Liberation Tigers in Jaffna district, media reports said. But the Election Commissioner Sunday decided against a re-vote.


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Vanni election results released

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 April 2004, 17:56 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance scored 90834 votes in the Vanni electoral district, according to results released by its chief returning officer, Mr. K. Ganesh, Saturday evening. The total number of valid votes polled in the district is 140377. The TNA got five of the six Parliamentary seats of Vanni. The United National Front got the sixth seat by polling 33540 votes.


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TNA scores ninety percent of votes polled in Jaffna

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 April 2004, 07:43 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance got ninety percent of the total votes polled in Jaffna and secured eight of the district’s nine seats, election officials said Saturday. The landslide victory is unprecedented. The total votes polled in the district was 303259, of which 21233 (6.96 percent) were rejected as spoilt. The paramilitary group EPDP managed to get a single seat by polling 18612 votes (6.2 percent). Independent Group No. 1, led by Mr. Veerasingham Anandasangaree was wiped out from the count as it got only 1.82 percent (5156) of the total votes polled in Jaffna.


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TNA wins two parliamentary seats in Trincomalee district

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 April 2004, 01:57 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) obtained two seats in Trincomalee obtaining 69,087 votes, nearly 4,000 votes more than its nearest rival Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC). The counting of preferential votes in the Trincomalee electoral district commenced Saturday morning in the counting centres located in the Trincomalee district secretariat.
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TNA said leading in Trincomalee electoral district

[TamilNet, Saturday, 03 April 2004, 00:19 GMT]
Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is reported to be leading by more than two thousand votes in the Trincomalee electoral district in the final count which is in progress Saturday early morning. TNA is now expected to capture two parliamentary seats for the first time under the district proportionate system, Tamil sources said.


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TNA leads by massive majorities in Jaffna electorates

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 April 2004, 23:45 GMT]
The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) is leading all the electorates of the Jaffna District by vast majorities, elections officials in the north said in the early hours of Saturday morning. In the Udupiddy electorate of Jaffna, for which results were made available, the TNA (contesting as Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi) got 24176 votes. The paramilitary group EPDP polled 874 votes and the Independent Group No. 1 led by Mr. V. Anandasangaree got only 362 votes in the Udupiddy electorate in Jaffna.
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TNA gets 80% Jaffna Postal Votes, comes second in Trinco

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 April 2004, 19:20 GMT]
Of the 3985 total postal votes cast in Jaffna, Tamil National Alliance obtained 3175 votes (80.1%). EPDP obtained 420 votes (10.6%) and Independent (Anandasangaree) group got 340 (8.6%). In Trincomalee, TNA (1892) came second behind UPFA (3269) in postal votes cast. UNP (1698) and SLMC (1441) followed the leaders.
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Kilinochchi, Vadamaradchi east voters throng Muhamalai

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 April 2004, 13:56 GMT]
Elections officials in Jaffna said Friday that thousands of voters from Kilinochchi walked a kilometre in scorching sun across the line of control between the areas controlled by the LTTE and the Sri Lanka army in the southern part of peninsula to cast their ballot. Polling was higher than sixty percent in the clustered booths in Sri Lanka army’s clearing zone for commercial vehicles, according to them. People voted with unprecedented enthusiasm in the Sri Lanka military controlled parts of Jaffna.
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High polling in clustered booths for Killinochchi voters

[TamilNet, Friday, 02 April 2004, 11:08 GMT]
High polling was recorded in the clustered polling stations located in the Muhamalai area for voters residing in the LTTE controlled Killinochchi district and villages in the Vadamaradchchi east division in the Jaffna district. Around noon, sixty percent of the voters have voted in the sixty two polling stations, 30 for Killinochchi district voters and 32 for Vadamaradchchi east division voters in the LTTE held areas, election department sources said.
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CMEV sends all Sinhala monitors to Jaffna district

[TamilNet, Thursday, 01 April 2004, 00:35 GMT]
A thirteen member-team of the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) arrived in Jaffna Wednesday to monitor the April 2nd general election in the Jaffna electoral district. All monitors are from the major community and would be staying in Jaffna until the election is concluded, civil society sources said.


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