Re-poll could delay Sri Lanka Presidential poll result

Sri Lanka's election chief warned here Friday that announcement of Sri Lanka's presidential election result could be delayed if he was forced to order a re-poll.

Dayananda Dissanayake, the Commissioner of Elections, told reporters that if violence, intimidation and malpractice marred election in any of the polling stations during the presidential election to be held on Nov. 17, he would be compelled to annul the poll in such stations.

"I have already made up my mind to hold the re-poll on Nov. 19, " Dissanayake said.

The election chief said 13.3 million voters are eligible to vote which is 400,000 voters more than the last election held in April 2004.

The poll is expected to take place in over 10,400 polling stations throughout the island with over 100,000 election officials manning them.

Dissanayake said that polling stations would be provided for voters in areas under the Tamil Tiger control in the north and east of the country. "These will be located so as to ensure minimum inconvenience to the voters," Dissanayake said, adding that the voters would be provided with transport to the polling stations.

On the poll in the Tsunami devastated areas, Dissanayake said his officials are finalizing the full figures of those who had died and those who had been displaced.

No official poll cards would be issued in favor of those presumed dead from the Tsunamis.

Almost two thirds of the island coastal line was devastated by the Dec. 26, 2004 tsunamis which left over 30,000 dead.

The Elections Chief said that election monitors from the European Union would be observing the poll in addition to monitoring carried out by two local election watchdog groups.

Dissanayake said his department was ready to hold both the Presidential and parliamentary election on the same day if asked to do so.

He was responding to speculation that the Sri Lankan President Chandrika Kumaratunga may opt to call a snap parliamentary election.

Source: Xinhua