Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake assured political party secretaries that, in meting the expectations of the voters for a free, fair and independent polls, it is his bounden duty and responsibility to ensure the Provincial Council Elections Act No. 2 of 1988 is not violated in any way.

The Commissioner requested party secretaries not to complain later that they were unaware he was strictly enforcing the Appeal Court order, where possession of an National Identity Card is compulsory for a voter to cast his/her vote.

He also asked the secretaries to create an awareness among those who are still not in possession of any officially recognized identity card to obtain the temporary identity cards before February 4, 2009 and not complain later that they were deprived of exercising their franchise.

The Commissioner was addressing the secretaries of political parties contesting the forthcoming polls to the Central and North Western Province, at the Elections Secretariat last Friday.

The UPFA was represented by General Secretary Minister Susil Premajayanth, UNP by General Secretary Tissa Attanayake and Legal Secretary Daya Pelpola and the People’s Liberation Front by MP Sunil Handunnetti.

Additional Commissioner of Elections (Provincial and Local) W. P. Sumanasiri, who was also present during the meeting, said that all applications for postal voting closed yesterday and that marking of these votes would take place on February 2 and 3.