Low voter turnout in Omanthai

[TamilNet, Thursday, 17 November 2005, 11:33 GMT]
No votes were cast until mid-day at the sixty two cluster booths near Omanthai Sri Lanka Army (SLA) checkpoint. However, few Omanthai residents turned up in the afternoon, sources in Omanthai said. Voting was brisk in Muslim and Sinhala areas in Vavuniya inside SLA controlled areas.

Security was strengthened in Vavuniya town and around polling booths. Sri Lanka Air Force (SLAF) soldiers were also deployed to assist in maintaining security in Vavuniya, sources said.

Unconfirmed reports said residents burnt photographs of Presidential contestants in Puliyankulam area.

Eligible voters in the Liberation Tigers controlled area in Vavuniya are 18,857, in Mannar 16,131 and in Mullaitivu 65,504.