UPFA credits higher voter turnout, peaceful poll to Govt.

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CM nominees after gazette notification

By Cheranka Mendis The Government yesterday credited itself for the higher voter turnout and the relatively incident-free polls in three provinces especially the first-ever in the north and an effective testimony of democracy at work. “The true victory of the Government lies in the high turnout of participation in all three provinces, in particular the Northern Province elections, which totalled at an average 68%,” Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa told journalists in Colombo. Official results showed the TNA winning the Northern Provincial Council election bagging 30 seats out of 38, while the UPFA securing victory in the North Western and Central Provincial Council elections, obtaining 34 seats in the NWP and 36 seats in the CP. UPFA General Secretary Susil Premajayanth giving a breakdown of the polls noted that the Northern Provincial Council election, which attracted international interest, shows that the polls were a free and fair one conducted in a transparent manner. Observed by Commonwealth analysts, a 20 member committee with SAARC representatives under the Elections Commissioner, as well as local bodies such as PAFFREL, the elections were conducted with no major incidents reported on Saturday, he said. “It is the first time that provincial council elections were held in the north after 25 years and it records the highest percentage in terms of turnout participation when compared with all other provincial councils held in the country,” Premajayanth said. A 68% average turnout has been marked in all three provinces with some electorates recording 71%.

In the north, the UPFA bagged 82,838 votes with seven members elected. Compared with the 2009 Parliamentary elections, the vote count for the party has decreased by a small margin, he said. Out of the seven seats, three have gone to Tamil ministers (two in Jaffna, one in Kilinochchi). The composition of the party’s seats also includes three Muslim ministers and two Sinhalese (Vavuniya). “This shows that our party is represented by all ethnicities and religions. This affirms our stance that we not discriminate any religion, ethnicity or belief.” Despite the low number of seats in the north, the UPFA secured a convincing victory in the North Western and Central Provincial Council elections, obtaining 34 and 36 seats respectively. In the Central Province, 11 seats have been acquired in Nuwara Eliya and the party has been able to maintain the same level of seats from the Matale District as the previous election. Even though the Kandy seat representation has fallen by two, with the coalition the number of seats reaches 39, he said. “We have been able to increase our voter percentage from 2009 in both provinces.” Premajayanth also said the chief ministerial nominees and nominees for bonus seats would be made known by the UPFA after a gazette notification is issued by the Elections Commissioner.