18 PA supporters had been killed, from a total of 21 election related murders committed till Sunday evening, while nearly 172 incidents of serious incidents, involving the use of offensive weapons, out of a total of 375 cases of serious incidents, had been committed by the UNP against supporters of the PA, a government release said.

The UNP sensing, defeat at the polls, is stepping up violence country-wide in a possible plan to intimidate and impersonate voters.

A delegation from the People’s Alliance comprising M. M. Zuhair, PC Wijedasa Rajapakse, PC and Sripathy Sooriarachi told John Cushnahan, Chief Observer of the European Union Election Observation Mission at the

Hotel Oberoi, Colombo on Monday morning that not withstanding the escalating level of violence, the total number of incidents, so far, with two days more for the General Elections was appreciably low compared to the 1994 General Elections, the delegation pointed out.

According to the International Poll Observers Report on the General Elections of 1994, there were 2,119 election related incidents, from the date of nominations, namely 11 July 1994 till the 7 August 1994, 9 days prior to the General Elections of 16 August 1994.

The total number of incidents upto and including the 16 August 1994 was 2,970, whereas in this election, the total number of incidents so far was 1,731.

The UNP and sections of the Pro-UNP media had, in anticipation of defeat, wrongly described the on-going election as the worst violence rigged elections, with a view to influence the polls observers to condemn the elections as not being ‘free and fair’, the EU was told.

The escalating level of serious incidents of violence foisted upon the PA by the UNP, were a threat for ‘free and fair’ elections for the People’s Alliance and not for the UNP. The PA has appealed to the President for firm measures in this connection.

The delegation also pointed out that with a much larger number of incidents of violence in 1994, the Interntional Polls Observers, in their report had expressed the view that "these violations did not affect the overall results of the election".