Commonwealth Observation Group calls polls democratic

Commonwealth Observation Group Chairman Dr. H.E. George Abela at the media briefing – Pic by Lasantha Kumara

By Chamodi Gunawardana

The Commonwealth Observation Group which monitored the 2015 Parliamentary Election yesterday asserted that the polls had met the key criteria of a democratic election.

Addressing a media briefing held in Colombo, Commonwealth Observation Group Chairman Dr. H.E George Abela noted that the election had been conducted in a peaceful and fair manner. 

“In view of the overall fairness of the campaign environment, the robust and even-handed approach of key institutions and the transparency with which voting, counting and the results process took place, this election was credible and met the key criteria of a democratic election,” Abela stated.

Abela said that the law was silent on the issue of advance voting for those who were unable to come to the polling station.

“Some voters who were willing to vote were unable to reach the polling station due to illness or physical disability. Therefore we believe that the law should be reviewed,” he asserted.

Abela also spoke about campaign financing and said that currently there were no established regulations over campaigning spending. 

“We observed that Sri Lanka did not have proper regulations for campaign financing. We believe this merits consideration in light of best practice in election management,” he mentioned.

Moving on to election laws and guidelines, Abela stressed that the campaign environment was low-key with a limited number of campaign related visual materials on display.

“We think that it happened mainly due to the strict enforcement of election laws and guidance. We appreciate the Election Commissioner and his staff for guiding candidates to do so,” he stated.

He also said that Police maintained security levels at the polling stations without any failures. 

“The Police were positive and visible in maintaining security at voting areas and counting stations. This ensured that violations of election law were kept in check,” Abela noted.

Commenting on the observation process, Abela said: “On the election day, we had observers in the Western, North Western, Northern, North Central and Central provinces. In those areas we witnessed the opening of polls, voting, the closing of polls and the counting process,” he said. 

The Commonwealth Observation Group Chairman suggested that an Independent Election Commission should be formed as soon as possible to conduct a better election.

“As outlined in the Sri Lanka’s current Constitution, an Independent Election Commission must be established as a matter of urgency. Previous groups of Commonwealth Observation have made the same observation on this. We urge the Sri Lankan Government to give this further consideration,” he said.