Posted by - Over 200,000 Displaced
- Only 20-25,000 Registration Forms Received
By Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema
Thousands of displaced persons in the north will be deprived of exercising their franchise at the January 26, 2010 presidential election, given the small number of registration forms received by the Elections Department and the Department’s decision not to extend the December 24 deadline for the displaced persons to register to vote.
The Election Commissioner’s Department has received only about 20,000 to 25,000 registration forms from about 200,000 displaced persons in the north by Thursday (24).
Assistant Elections Commissioner, W.P. Sumanasiri said that although 20,000 to 25,000 persons was a small number in comparison to the total number of displaced persons in the north, it was not an indication that those who have not sent in applications would not be able to cast their votes.
He explained that the relevant regulation was introduced by the government when displaced persons who wished to cast their votes were away from their hometown, and asked to register with the Department during election time.
“This time around, the ground situation has changed and all the displaced people may have not sent registration forms because they had no fear of returning to their hometowns to cast their votes,” Sumanasiri said. He added that the December 24 deadline could not be extended, as the Department had already given a period of one month for the displaced persons to register.
Assistant Elections Commissioner for Vavuniya, A.S. Karunanidhi said that by Wednesday (23), his office had received about 12,000 applications.
When asked for the number of eligible voters currently living in IDP camps in Vavuniya, he said, “I’m not aware of the exact number, but there are about 80,000 IDPs still in camps.”
Meanwhile, Media Spokesperson for Campaign for Free and Fair elections (CAFFE), Keerthi Tennekoon said the current situation would prevent most of the displaced persons in the North from exercising their franchise at the January 26 elections.
CAFFE insists that the candidates and political parties must take decisive steps to ensure that these IDPs in the north who have after 30 years received the opportunity to vote shall somehow be secured the right of franchise.
Tennekoon said it was regrettable that no political party has taken any action to protect the voting rights of the IDPs in the north.
“Not only the Elections Commissioner and the govt. officials, but the political parties too have a responsibility to safeguard the voting rights of the IDPs in Jaffna and the Wanni Districts. These parties who are representatives of the people should take crucial measures to provide the IDPs with the right to vote. Yet, a majority of the candidates who are contesting the presidential election are indifferent to this need,” he stated.
The Tamil speaking people in the north were prevented from casting their votes during the previous 2005 presidential election, following an order by LTTE Leader Velupillai Prabhakaran to boycott the elections.
Calling for a presidential election two years prior to the due date, President Mahinda Rajapaksa said he needed to receive a mandate from the people in the north following the end of the war.
This news cannot be true. These people have temporary IDs and can vote. However, IDP have right to vote or not. That is their decision.
This is not about temporary IDs. It’s about additional time for voter registration! You talk as if IDP’s are acting “on their decisions”. Wake up and smell the coffee.
When Indigenous People can’t VOTE, then There shouldn’t be any Elections. The Buddhists should obey to the country’s customs wherever they live. Since the Mongolian Buddhist Monks arrival, we are having blood shed after Blood Shed.
This man don’t believe in evolution…
Diva Deke Muniya… What a shame…How a hero become the biggest liar..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9_O1OrUHfY&feature=player_embedded
This is natural.
Hero becomes Zero
The animals do not have diabetic or high blood pressure at the young age. Because they do not want money, power or any other thing. They need food for that day only.
But Human needs eveything
TNA group got votes by using LTTE. Now they are against to LTTE.
They do not think about the IDP but minister post as Karuna, Pillaiyan and Douglas got.
Will SF give a minister post to Sampanthan as he was a rebel from 1977?
Dear TNA MPs
You got MP job appointmets because of our votes. No other qualification was necessary for you.
Could you give your one month salary to us? We can eat for one year in your one month salary.
THE UN SHOULD OVER SEE THE ELECTIONS OTHERWISE MAHINDA RAJAPAKSE JUNTA WILL FORCE THE IDP’S TO VOTE FOR HIM.
THE SRI LANKANS SHOULD SEND THE MAHINDA GANG TO HELL. WE CANNOT SUFFER ANOTHER 5 YEARS UNDER THIS JUNTA. ENOUGH IS ENOUGH.
Loosers… We are better under MR wing.. than a political child like SF who make stupid talks even with a Teleprompter..
cybersri is definitely a mahinda puppet…how much does he pay you from the stolen money?
You must be one of the few thousand benefitting from totalitarian rule…
wel done cybersri
Yes very true
Not only displaced people, some of my friends who are Jaffna origin they also say they don’t have voting rights and they never receive their voting cards. Where do those people voting cards go?
You have lost your credibility. That’s enough.
Where is Federica Janz
She’s still trying to sell the audio tape of SF
she got fired for selling out…
It appears that most people who support are hiddien under the word patriotic created by MR and Family for their own benefit. Some people says we are better off under MR, because they do not suffer under MR’s rule. People like Thondaman, Douglas, Karuna, Rambuk all are multi-billionaires. But we have no wor, no food. Let MR and co to donate all the money and create work for us. Every election times, we were given promises that we will be given work but none materialised. The people who associated with MR’s politicians get all job even without necessary qualifications. Therefore please show mercy on us and give a chance to others not to MR.
Who r u tell me?
mr. tennekoon from the caffe says 1.5 million from jaffna and wanni cannot vote because they are not registered.at the moment the total population of the tamils livng in s.l would be round 2 m. if iam a tamil i would not vote for a president,definetly not for fonseka specially because of the jvp(no devolution of political power at all),hence i wont register.mr.t. do not mislead the s.l.ans.
ranjit de mel berlin
Hi Ranjith, this is Trevor!
You’re quite right. Which Tamil would vote for the JVP?
Dear readers, Federica Jainz is not there, today, read http://www.lankaenews.com/English to know more about Federica
http://www.lankaenews.com/English/news.php?id=8851
http://www.lankaenews.com/English/news.php?id=8840
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K9_O1OrUHfY&feature=player_embedded
[...] et analyses – Année 2009 By M a n u 27.12.2009 – Majority Of Displaced Have No Vote. 24.12.2009 – Les cicatrices du tsunami. 21.12.2009 – Sri Lanka, nomination [...]
Prove it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ecP9khSFvpg&feature=player_embedded
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NqLkBjOXpYo&feature=player_embedded
These people will go to vote and will be duly denied their right to vote at the voting boot. We won’t hear from them!
Mahinda came to power with minus North and East votes. He will see that they will not vote by denying the IDP’s of their votes. As he is not sure of their vote for him. After all the sufferings they went through, do you expect them to vote for him? That is the reason he wanted to have the election while he has another two years of term. If he grants fecilities for them to vote, he will surely loose. Let us wait and see.
Yes… that means Mahinda will win. Latest news say 1.4 million voters doesn’t have voting power. So all those votes might be used by m#$i&da company
Hi TNA MPS
Hi Tamil Congress
Hi TELO
Hi EPRLF
I am still roaming in all area without body. But u talk with somebody who destroyed my body………..
Oh…. Singheelam killed 20000 people.
THE TAMILS SHOULD GO TO TAMIL NADU AND THE MUSLIMS SHOULD GO TO SOUDI ARABIA AND TO OTHER MUSLIM COUNTRIES FROM WHERE THEY CAME , THEN THERE WILL BE PEACE IN SRI LANKA.
This news about Iraq
Not about srilanka.
V all should live peacefully. Those who live in overseas may make split among us.
This is the country for all muslims, tamils and sinhalease. Nothing is permanent in our life. even countries. Think about 50 years after ur death…….
Nobody will remember u………..
Even ur grand children……………………..
U all r frog in a well………………………………..
I am the first person came to Srilanka.
Who r u all?
Now understood.
U all r vedas, my family
http://www.hrw.org/en/features/sri-lanka-shelling-civilians
http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2009/11/24/commonwealth-jamboree-repression
Over the past six years, the Sri Lankan government – presiding over serious violations of the laws of war and a vicious assault on its critics – has even sat on the Commonwealth ministerial action group, responsible for enforcing members’ compliance with the Commonwealth’s core values. There could be no better symbol of its failure to protect human rights and political freedoms.
Commonwealth ha ha.. LTTE diaspora people.. Not like you refugees we don’t want Queens approval.