4000 duplicate applications sent to voting centres

The Department of Elections has identified 4000 duplicate applications being recieved for distant voting by IDPs, department sources revealed. The department has received 48 000 applications and officials have identified that a large number of applications from Puttalam and Jaffna districts have been systematically duplicated. “This is a serious issue. Out of the 275 000 IDPs, we have received less than 50 000 applications for distant voting and we found that an unknown organization has sent a large number of duplicated application forms,” he said. “For example if a person called X has sent an application to the Department’s Colombo office, this organization has sent another application under X’s name to our office in Puttalam. Meanwhile, since there have been many reports of malpractices in the issuing of temporary identity cards -- they will have no problem to vote if they get the polling card,” he added.
Since there is virtually no state administrative structure in the Vanni, a large portion of the election work has to be carried out by the military. Since both Fonseka and the government have access to the military and journalists are not allowed to travel along the A9 road, there is room for rampant election malpractice, he said.
“The elections commissioner is fully aware of this and is planning to take matters into his own hands in the coming weeks. He is also keeping a close tab not only on the police but also on some regional assistant commissioners,” he said. “We have received reports that there were some irregularities in the postal voting that just concluded. Although we have informed the police to remove cutouts and banners on display at voting centres, in many instances these instructions have not been carried out,” he added.

- RK