Grand response to Norway ballot: 80 percent turn out

[TamilNet, Monday, 11 May 2009, 03:41 GMT]
Around 80 percent of eligible voters among Eezham Tamils in the cities and other centres where a ballot was conducted to test the current validity of Vaddukkoaddai Resolution, turned out for the voting, Utrop news paper, which conducted the ballot, reported Sunday night. The voting took place on Sunday between 11:00 a.m. and 7:00 p.m., simultaneously in 6 centres in the major cities and in 8 other centres in suburban and remote towns of Norway. People were seen standing in long queues to cast their votes on the gist of the Resolution, whether they like an independent and sovereign Tamil Eelam or not. This is the first time the question is tested through universal suffrage, 33 years after its endorsement by the Eezham Tamils in the 1977 general elections in Sri Lanka. The results are awaited Monday noon.



Norway's multicultural biweekly, Utrop, conducted the ballot in 14 centres: three centres in the Oslo city, one each in the cities of Bergen, Stavanger and Trondheim and one each in the suburban and remote towns of Lørenskog, Tromsø, Florø, Nordfjordeid, Ålesund, Molde, Narvik and Bø.

The ballot was secret and postal votes were not permitted.

All Eezham Tamils (including non Eezham Tamil marriage partners) and their descendants, over 18 years old were permitted to vote. Checking the identities and the entire ballot process was managed and observed by independent Norwegian professionals brought in by the Utrop biweekly.

The enthusiasm shown by the community towards this democratic exercise was unprecedented, observers said. One hour of standing in the queue could be seen in some of the city centres. Special arrangements were made for the disabled and for parents coming with small children to cast their votes without waiting.

Last month, a ballot taken in France among grass root organizations of Eezham Tamils voted 100 percent in favour of the Resolution.

The Utrop initiative to democratically and objectively ascertain the Eezham Tamil opinion is widely seen as very significant at a time when models of solution to the crisis in the island is in a melting pot.





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