The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence has in its monitoring of the incidence of violence throughout the campaign accorded the election in the North and East a special focus. This was warranted by the situation of NO War / NO Peace and the ceasefire agreement. The climate of fear and intimidation in which non-TNA candidates in the Jaffna District, in particular, had to campaign, necessitated this.

In its Media Release of 30 March 2004, CMEV highlighted the conditions under which the election campaign was being conducted. In that Press Release, CMEV urged

all parties contesting the elections in the North and East to ensure that voting is carried out without any acts of intimidation or violence or other malpractice on April 2, 2004.

We further stated that

It is only if divergent views and opinions are allowed to be expressed, and are seen to be expressed, that these elections can go on record as being conducted in a free and fair atmosphere. It is only then, that all those who emerge victorious can truly claim to be the legitimate representatives of their constituencies.

This has not been the case in the Jaffna District. Furthermore, on the basis of the reports that we have received from our observers in the field, we feel that polling in the Jaffna District was subjected to systematic impersonation, therefore warranting an annulment of the poll there followed by a re poll of the District. We urge the Commissioner to consider this.

Some of our reports refer to

• …large scale impersonation which was carried out in a well organized, systematic way…
• According to an observer in the area, the worst areas of impersonation were Point Pedro, Thumpalai, Puloly, Alvai, Karaveddy and Polikandy. Several groups were seen washing their fingers and a man with a bottle of clear liquid for this purpose, sighted. The observer further notes that impersonation was quite blatant with people arriving to vote with ink stains on their hands. The observer further notes that the SPOs and EPDP polling agents did not seem to care.
• Another observer noted that beneath the low number of complaints lay “an undercurrent that there was widespread attempts at intimidation for voters to follow the LTTE/TNA line”.

CMEV will issue a full report on the election in the North and East once a detailed debriefing of its Monitors and collation of reports, has been completed.

CMEV was formed in 1997 by the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA), the Free Media Movement (FMM) and the Coalition against Political Violence as an independent and non-partisan organization to monitor the incidence of election related violence.

Dr. P. Saravanamuttu Co-Convenor	Sunila Abeysekera Co-Convenor	Sundanda Deshapriya Co-Convenor