Of a cumulative total of 276 incidents recorded by CMEV as of 05th July 2004, 33 (11.96%) have been classified as Major Incidents. This includes 01 Murder in the Ratnapura District, 01 Attempted Murder in the Anuradhapura district, 10 incidents of Hurt, 15 Assaults and 04 cases of Arson in various districts of the 06 provinces.

Of the 243 (88.04%) incidents of violence classified as Minor Incidents, 207 are identified as election offences. The rest of the incidents classified in the Minor category are 18 Threats, 04 Damage to Property and 14 acts of Mischief.

Considering the geographical spread of incidents, the Western Province with a total of 120 or 43.48% of the total is the most incident prone of the six provinces. In the Western Province a total of 120 incidents are made up of 51 incidents in the Colombo District, 46 in the Gampaha District and 23 in the Kalutara District. Of the combined total of incidents in the Western Province, 95 incidents are classified as election related offenses or instances of violation of elections law.

In the Uva Province, CMEV has recorded 55 or 19.93% of the total incidents in the Provincial Council Elections. The corresponding figures in the other provinces are - 37 or 13.41% in the Central Province, 34 or 12.32% in the Southern Province, 19 or 6.88% in Sabaragamuwa Province and 11or 3.98% in the North Central Province.

The UPFA is identified as the alleged perpetrator of violence in 149 (53.98%) incidents, the UNF in 86 (31.16%) incidents and in 41 (14.86%) other incidents, the party affiliation of the alleged perpetrator is unknown.

On 4th July 2004, CMEV recorded an incident in Hingurakgoda, in the Polonnaruwa District of the North Central Province, where a clash between groups of UNF and UPFA supporters resulted in the Police using teargas and baton charges to control the situation. Following the incident a UPFA/JVP supporter has been admitted to the Hingurakgoda hospital with head injuries while few others including 3 police officers and a journalist had received minor injuries.

It is alleged that the UNF group led by few UNF candidates for the North Central Provincial Council and UNP parliamentarians Earl Gunasekara and Gamini Jayawicrama Perera who were involved in a demonstration, clashed with a group of UPFA supporters involved in preparations for a scheduled meeting. Resisting the Police efforts to break up the clash, the UNF supports have allegedly stoned the Police forcing the Police to deploy riot units and tear gas to prevent the further spread of the clash.

When contacted by CMEV, the HQI of Hingurakgoda Police confirmed that the UNF group involved in a demonstration had clashed with the UPFA supporters. He added that two UNF members has been taken into custody in connection with the clash. They were identified as Gamini Nagoda UNF PS member and deputy chairman of the Hingurakgoda PS and Sudath Wimalasekera UNF PS member of Hingurakgoda PS.

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