LG polls: Landslide victory for UPFA

President Mahinda Rajapaksa led UPFA secured an overwhelming mandate at the Local Government Elections 2011, winning 205 local bodies from 234 in which elections were held.

Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadchi (ITAK) has come second winning 12 Councils, including Mannar Urban Council, Vavuniya PS, Manthai East PS, Trincomalee UC and Naveenthanveli PS.

The UNP has won only nine councils, including Kuliyapitiya UC, Gampola UC, Bandarawela MC, Kadugannawa UC and Kalutara UC. Several Local Authorities in the Gampaha District, including Wattala Mabole UC, Wattala PS and Peliyagoda UC previously held by the UNP have been won by the ruling UPFA. The SLMC has won four local bodies.

The JVP lost its former stronghold of the Tissamaharama Pradeshiya Sabha to the UPFA which was the only JVP controlled council before the loss.

Officials of the Elections Department said that Thursday’s voting was peaceful except for a few minor incidents as polling for the Local Government election closed at 4 p.m. Voting commenced at 7 a.m Thursday to elect 3,022 candidates for 234 local government authorities which include three Municipal Councils, 30 Urban Councils and 201 Pradeshiya Sabhas.

Sources said the overall voter turnout was between 50 to 55 %.

According to the 2009 voters register, 9,813,375 persons were eligible to vote and the total number of postal voters exceeded 321,595. Over 29,000 candidates from the main political parties and the independent groups were in the fray.

The highest voter turnout was reported from Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and Hambantota Districts which exceeded 60%.

The voter turnout in certain divisional secretariats in the Kalutara District surpassed 55 % by 12 noon.

Election observers including the People’s Action for Free and Fair Election (PAFFREL) said the voters in rural areas show more interest in exercising their franchise than the urban voters and in the suburban areas. They added that initially no long queues were seen at the polling stations as in other elections when voting commenced at 7 a.m.

A special security arrangement was in place in and around the polling stations and the Security Forces jointly with the police launched a mobile service covering all areas where the election was held.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa cast his vote at the Medamulana D. A. Rajapaksa Vidyalaya while Prime Minister D. M. Jayaratne cast his vote at Doluwa Maha Vidyalaya in Gampola.

Police ask public to celebrate election results peacefully

 Police Department has called on the public to celebrate the election results in a peaceful manner without causing any incidents.

Head of the Police Election Secretariat, Deputy Inspector General (DIG) Gamini Navaratne has told the media that the police have not recorded any major post-election incidents.

He has said that the public should celebrate the election results in a peaceful manner.

According to DIG Navaratne, a special security protocol has been put in place in areas where the local government elections were held.

He has said that measures have been taken to prevent any incidents from taking place in the next few days.

EC says conduct of political parties at polls regrettable

Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake has said that it was regrettable how some political parties and groups conducted themselves both before and during the local government polls.

Issuing a statement, Dissanayake has said that it was also regrettable that state resources and state owned media were misused during the period of the elections.

The Elections Commissioner has stated that occurrences of thuggery were reported during the nominations period, adding that a marked feature in the election campaign was the competition even among candidates of the same party for preferences.

However, Dissanayake has observed that the local government polls were conducted in a “fairly pleasant atmosphere when compared to polls in previous local authority elections.”

President thanks people on UPFA victory

I reiterate at this victorious moment, our commitment in carrying out the people’s expectations, stated President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a statement thanking all Sri Lankans who ensured an outstanding victory to the UPFA at the elections to Local Government bodies.

The following is the statement:

I express my gratitude and honour to all Sri Lankans for the outstanding victory of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) at this Local Government elections.

The trust bestowed by the people upon the government’s ‘Mahinda Chintana’ development plan executing the theme, ‘Sapiri Gamak - Supiri Hetak’ (abundant village to self-sufficient nation) is further evidenced by the huge mandate received at this election.

At this victorious moment, I reiterate our commitment in carrying out the people’s expectations in this endeavour as in previous development processes.

I thank all people who laid their trust in the ‘Mahinda Chintana’ since 2005, all political parties and contestants that helped carry out this local government elections successfully; the Elections Commissioner and staff of the Elections Department who were committed to hold a free and fair election, and all members of the public service, police and the security forces.