EC showcases waterproof cardboard boxes to be used as ballot boxes

Friday, 1 November 2019 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Elections Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya showing a new ballot box to media yesterday – Pic by Samantha Perera

Will replace wooden boxes due to length of ballot paper
3000 plastic boxes which are with EC will also be used

The Election Commission yesterday showcased some of the waterproof cardboard boxes that will be used in the 16 November Presidential Election. These will replace the wooden boxes usually used in most polling centres, due to the length of the ballot paper.

“A wooden box can only hold 450 ballot papers, given the length of this ballot paper, but the biggest cardboard box can hold up to 1200 papers.

The boxes come in three sizes, and will be sent to the polling centres depending on the number of registered voters in each centre,” said EC Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya.

The cost of the cardboard boxes, too, is much lower than plastic and wooden boxes. “These will cost around Rs. 1500 each, but the prices of plastic boxes range between Rs. 6000 to Rs. 8500,” he said.

EC Chairman Deshapriya said that political parties have been shown the boxes, and have agreed to their use, adding that most countries now use cardboard boxes for elections.

The Commissioner also said that there was no way that there could be any fraud or theft during elections, such as stealing ballot boxes or changing the marks on the ballot papers.

“These are all myths that are being spread, but there will be no such incidents at the elections, I can assure voters,” he said.

Post marked ballot papers and face up to three years in jail: EC

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.