The Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) has logged 157 cases of assault (30), threats (38), intimidation (69) and impersonation (20) between 7 a.m. and 5.30 p.m. on the polling day. The NGO’s Secretary General Senaka Wattegedara, in a statement issued yesterday said the final total could be higher once they received full data from their district offices.

He had categorized 42 other incidents as violations without going into details.

On the basis of this report, CaFFE has called the Elections Commissioner to call for a fresh poll in areas where serious malpractices had taken place.

The following is CaFFE’s full statement: The Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) observes that the Eastern Provincial election, which was held today, was not at all ‘free and fair’. This is due to the reason that it very clearly shown that dominance of rule of law had been overtaken by a dominance of violence.

In all three districts that voting was conducted in there-have been incidents of voters being attacked and prevented from casting their votes etc. CaFFE observed that polling agents who had arrived at the polling booths in the morning have had to leave because of the prevailing climate of intimidation. In all three districts there have also been reports of polling booth agents of certain political parties being attacked, chased away, and not allowed to enter into the polling booths and also incidents in which they were abducted.

In the Valachenai area, monitors observed that election commission officials were totally disregarded and certain factions perpetrated organized disturbances against the voters who were suspected to be casting votes against certain political parties. We also observed that organized gangs in many areas located in the Digamdulla and Trincomalee districts had been methodically stationed in these areas prior to election. Security personnel and law enforcement officials could not take any action against them. In Dehiattakandiya it was evident that there was a total climate of violence and intimidation and these gangs had systematically gone into selected areas and attacked selected people.

In Batticaloa, CaFFE observed 14 and 15 year old children casting votes without being challenged. They carried out such illegal voting with or without their voting cards, ballots paper and even without any identification documents.

Non- State armed groups were seen in areas around Batticaloa and Kalmunai carrying out election activities. They were observed to immediately withdraw from polling booth areas when they noticed election observers approaching, they were then seen to return to polling booths once they perceived that the elections monitors had left. In Trincomalee, CaFFE observed that a Minister had brought Internally Displaced People from Puttalam to cast votes and furthermore, internally displaced people from Trincomalee itself had been methodically organized and taken to vote.

Parallel to these observations CaFFE also observes that the people of the Digmadulla District have been seriously intimidated by the alleged acts of the LTTE, namely the bomb explosion and mortar attack that took place in Ampara and the attack on the ship in the Trincomalee harbour.

Presented below is an information list of violence during elections / violations of election laws data received by CaFFE between 7.00 am to 5.30 pm today the 10 th of May 2008. CaFFE believes that once we get data from our district offices the final total could be higher.

Assaults Threats Intimidations Impersonation Others

Trincomalee 10 18 08 07 26

Batticaloa 11 08 31 07 12

Digamadulla 09 12 30 06 04

Total 30 38 69 20 42

On the foregoing observations CaFFE would like to request that the election commissioner annul polling of certain polling booths and direct a re-polling in the polling booths of all three districts where serious violence and election malpractices have taken place.