Elections to 231 local authorities to be held Thursday

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 16 March 2011, 11:34 GMT]
Elections are scheduled to be held Thursday March 17 to Municipal Councils in Akkaraipaththu, Bandarawela and Dambulla, 30 Urban Councils and 201 Predesiya Sabhas. 9.4 million persons are eligible to vote for 29,098 candidates at 7,396 polling stations in the 23 administrative districts, excluding Jaffna and Killinochchi, to elect 3,022 candidates, Election Department sources said.

Fifteen candidates are among the 140 persons arrested for election violence related incidents so far.

50,000 police personnel have been deployed for election duty while 20,000 STF and armed forces personnel will on the standby duty to maintain law and order, according to the Inspector General of Police (IGP) Mahinda Balasuriya.

The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) and the People’s Action For Free and Fair Polls (PAFFREL) are authorized to monitor the polls.

PAFFREL had mobilized over 10,000 persons including 125 mobile teams to monitor polls in 23 administrative districts.