Accusations, counter accusations and the rivalry among political parties, independent groups and their supporters campaigning for the first ever polls for the Eastern Provincial Council peaked, as all campaigning halts by midnight today.

The Chief Consultant to the Elections Observations Secretariat, based at the Galadhari Hotel, S. Medawewa said that 17 of the 18 election Monitors from the Association of Asian Elections Authorities had arrived in Colomobo and would set out to the East on the morning of May 8th.

The security net was further tightened with all those entering the Eastern Province being subject to strict screening with the deployment of several thousand police, STF, Security forces and Civil Defence force personnel and police canines from outside.

The Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dissanayake gave strict instructions to the Chief Returning officers in the Eastern Province to comply with the Provincial Council Elections Act of 1988 and to direct the police to enforce the law and halt all campaigning by midnight yesterday.

The Commissioner made these observations during his final briefing to the three Chief Returning Officials Digamadulla (GA) Sunil Kannangara, Trincomalee (GA) Major (Retd) T. T. R. de Silva and Batticaloa (GA) Sundaram Arumainayagam at the Elections Secreteriat in Rajagiriya on Monday