REFUGEE

Four International Observers have been invited by Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake to monitor the January 26 presidential elections.

"The Commissioner has sent out invitations to the European Union, United Nations, Commonwealth Union and the Asian Association of Election Authorities (AAEA)", Additional Commissioner of Elections (Parliamentary) P. M. Siriwardena said yesterday.

He said that the presidential poll would be held according to the 2008 Electoral Register, according to which more than 14 million people are eligible to vote at the forthcoming poll. There is an increase of over 700,000 voters when compared to the presidential elections of 2005.

He said that arrangements are underway for the Commissioner of Elections to accept nominations on December 17 , 2009 from 9 to 11 am. The time set aside to file objections is from 9 am to 11.30 am on this day.

A candidate belonging to a recognized political party would have to deposit Rs 50,000 whereas an independent candidate has to deposit Rs 75,000 on or before December 16, 2009 before nominations are handed over.

The Commissioner of Registration of Persons A. G. Dharmadasa said that on a Cabinet Paper submitted by Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake on November 13, Rs 35 million had been set aside to issue temporary Identity Cards which are valid for three months for voting purposes.

He said that with the elections being held according to the Electoral Register for 2008, it was revealed that 2.6 million registered voters did not posses NICs though some had alternate identity cards which are recognized by the Commissioner of Elections.

Dharmadasa said that voters who do not possess any alternate identity cards should forward their applications through their respective Grama Niladharis to the 331 Divisional Secretariats in the country. The cost of the two photographs required for the identity card and processing will be met by the Government

Deputy Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said that applications for postal voting which commenced on November 27 will continue till December 7, 2009.

He said that further provisions had been made by the Commissioner of Elections for displaced voters to register themselves to vote. The applications should be forwarded without delay through the Grama Niladari of the area, where they reside at present.

With the Assistant Commissioner of Elections for the Jaffna District P. Kuhanathan overseas, the Assistant Commissioner in the Trincomalee District S. Suthakaran has assumed duties temporarily in Jaffna. He said that according to the Electoral Register for 2008 there are 721,359 registered voters in the Jaffna district eligible to vote at the forthcoming Presidential elections.

He said that with the revision of the Electoral Register for 2009 finalized by June 2009, the IDPs who were being resettled in Jaffna or countrywide could apply during the Registration Claim Period which commences from January 1 to January 28, 2010.

Elections Secretariat sources said that there were 112,924 registered voters in the Vavuniya electorate, 68,729 in the Mullaithivu electorate and 85,322 in the Mannar electorate in the North.