Colombo to decide on clustered booths in Trincomalee - GA

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 24 February 2004, 16:05 GMT]
Trincomalee District Government Agent and Returning Officer Mr. Gamini Rodrigo said Tuesday that he is considering locating clustered polling booths in no man zones to enable voters in the uncleared areas in the Trincomalee district to exercise their franchise, election officials in Trincomalee said.

However, higher authorities in Colombo should decide on this, said Mr. Rodrigo in reply to a question at a press briefing held Tuesday afternoon when the acceptance of nominations for the forthcoming general elections concluded Tuesday.

People in uncleared areas were denied their voting rights during the last [2001] elections. This will not happen again Gamini Rodrigo, GA Trinco

Mr. Rodrigo said 224,307 voters are eligible to cast their votes at the forthcoming polls in 278 polling stations. Fifty-nine new polling stations would be located for the forthcoming general election. Electoral wise, 86,277 voters are in Trincomalee, 74,869 in Muttur and 63161 in Seruvila.

Action has been taken to provide polling booths close to the boundaries of uncleared areas.

When pointed out to the Government Agent that at the last general election uncleared area voters were not allowed to cast their votes, the GA replied, "People in uncleared areas were denied their voting rights during the last election. This will not happen again."



Trincomalee Returning Officer Mr.Gamini Rodrigo addressing press briefing. Seated ( L-R) Assistant Returning Officer Mr.S.Ravichchandran, Assitsant Commissioner of Elections Mr.Mapa, Returning Officer Mr.Rodrigo, Election official Mr.Asoka Peiris and Trincomalee Divisional Secretary Mr.Sundaram Arumainayakam



He said nearly four thousand government servants would be deployed for election related works and twenty counting centres would be set up in the government district secretariat. One counting centre for displaced votes and the other for postal votes, he said.