Mahinda’s Tamil avatar, from a prior election, 2010
This is an update from today’s voting in the north. There are reports of polling cards being taken (essentially at gun point) in high numbers. Journalist Dinidu De Alwis spoke to some of these people and the issue seems definitely credible. In the past elections have been pulled back for far less and, if memory serves, recent polling around Kandy was annulled because of election violations. Anyways, here’s a paraphrase of what I heard over the phone, from the ground.
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In this Vadakachchi ten people came dressed in black wearing masks, four out six went in asking for polling card ID. One guy protested, he picked the the child up and put him aside, put gun against his chest. We sat down and talked to these people.
These people complained to the Army camp nearby. Army said there was no one there to take complaints in Tamil.
Senior Police officer heard of it and told those people to lodge complaints. People are scared to because they’ll end up screwed.
Numbers vary from 5,000-10,000 polling cards taken. We know that hundreds of cards were taken, but the unverified number. They’re saying its house to house.
Even if it’s a thousand, Kili has 60 something thousand.
Turnout at about 11 o’clock was 25-30%. Elephant Pass number 41, cops reported zero, small polling station. Navatkuli polling station UPFA candidate came and did (illegal canvassing). Paranthan Hindu College, there were two tin walls, some of the walls had a lot of posters. When asked the cops started removing them. 20-30 meters away, there was canvassing, they were distributing leaflets.
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Follow Dinidu’s Twitter, I got to run.
Anuradha Herath is also on the ground, Amantha Perera of TIME also has good updates.
Democracy the Lankan Way!
Elections commissioner will you annul the elections, please?
Depressing, predictable, illegal, unnecessary, hugely damaging and with new media, impossible to hide.
Let those who fan the flames of future discontent and agitation realise that no person is superior to another except by acts of virtue and humanity.
The gun-toting cadres led by Douglas Devananda, who is the main ally of President Rajapakse in the North, are feel superior now and above the law
have you guys actually looked at the results in these regions. Douglas Devananda must be very bad at intimidating people.
GV is doing a good job keeping ‘score’ of the behind the scenes action:
http://groundviews.org/2011/07/23/local-government-elections-in-jaffna/
For Rajapakse, power flows from the barrel of a gun. Elections are held at gunpoint under emergency with the misuse of Executive Powers and State Resources. Considering the violations stated in this report it is significant that Kayts has been won by DD as against the trend of the TNA winning throughout most of the North. It is quite incomprehensible that 77% voted for DD at Kayts. No doubt it is a result of the vote rigging as reported.
So this is how the great MR brings his chinthanaya to the North. I await the spinning.