Monitors however said the local government polls in Jaffna and Vavuniya and the Uva Provincial Council polls were conducted in a relatively peaceful environment. This was the first time that the people in Jaffna and Vavuniya exercised their franchise after the war.

Campaign for Free and Fair Elections spokesperson, Keerthi Tennekoon said the polls were held relatively peacefully except for a few incidents. (Read More)

Jaffna with its almost mythical landscape of sparkling lagoons and palmyrah fringed flats punctuated by towering kovils lies at the extreme northern edge of the island, but for three decades the city and the peninsula as a whole have been at the centre of this nation’s turmoil.

While much of the last decade saw war waged in the Wanni the cause has always been Jaffna and the peninsula’s rich red earth, gaudy goppurams and impossibly beautiful islands, was the prize over which so much blood was shed.

To be in Jaffna — to stand by the burned out hulk of the old central railway station, or by the mogul edifice of the resurrected Jaffna library is to stand at the epicenter of the country’s recent history. From the killing of Alfred Duraiappa and the burning of the Jaffna Library, to the arrival of the IPKF, and the election boycotts of 2004, so much of this country’s recent history is inextricably linked to this faded and fascinating town.

More than 60 per cent turned up to vote in yesterday’s Uva provincial elections marred by incidents of election law violations which included misuse of state property, officials said.

A series of post-poll incidents were also reported in Badulla last night and the army was deployed in some areas to prevent clashes between rival party members.

After a slow start voting in the Badulla and Moneragala districts picked up later in the day, according to officials. Moneragala Government Agent J. J. Ratnasiri said voting began peacefully with few if any incidents reported. He said there was a larger turnout in the pre-dominantly Tamil areas. (Read More)

Sri Lanka's ruling coalition and an ethnic Tamil party seen as a front for the defeated Tamil Tiger rebels have won the first postwar elections, held near the island's former battlefields.

According to state television, President Mahinda Rajapaksa's ruling coalition has captured Jaffna town council, securing 13 of the 23 seats, while the pro-rebel Tamil National Alliance came second with eight seats in the election held Saturday. (Read More)

Opposition parties accused the ruling coalition of restricting their campaigns, the government barred most media from the region, and voters appeared apathetic in the first elections in the northern cities of Jaffna and Vavuniya since 1998.

Voter turnout was less than 25 percent in Jaffna and about 40 percent in Vavuniya, according to election monitors. (Read More)

The day before the elections, no incidents related to violations were reported from Monaragala and Badulla Districts.

On the day of the elections, there were a number of reports in relation to the violation of election laws. Election propaganda activities, displaying of cut-outs, banners and posters in town areas on the day of the election were significant characteristics in relation to this. All major political parties displayed their banners, cut-outs unlawfully. (Read More)

Nearly 875,456 voters will cast their votes today at 814 polling stations established in 20 electorates of the Uva Province to elect 32 members to the Uva Provincial Council while 125,043 registered voters in 88 polling stations established in Jaffna and Vanuniya will cast their votes to elect 34 representatives to the Jaffna Municipal Council and Vavuniya Urban Council respectively.

This is going to be the first time that Provincial Council elections for the Uva Province and Local Government elections for the Jaffna MC and Vavuniya UC are held after the country was fully liberated from the clutches of LTTE terrorism by enabling the people to exercise their franchise freely.

According to the Election Commissioner’s Department 432 candidates from 14 political parties and four Independent Groups are contesting from the Badulla district while 168 candidates from nine political parties and three Independent Groups are contesting from the Moneragala district ( Read More)

The UNP said that UPFA advertisements placed in certain media yesterday was a clear violation of the deadline set for the Uva Provincial Council Election.

UNP General Secretary of the Tissa Attanayake told a news conference in Colombo that the government was masquerading as a sinless new born baby, but was flouting every possible law in the country.

"Take for example the UPFA election advertisements placed in certain media yesterday. Its a clear violation of the law, since its well past the deadline for disseminating election propaganda. We will be lodging a complaint with the Elections Commissioner."

Commissioner of Elections Dayananda Dissanayake yesterday requested Political parties to advise their supporters to refrain from resorting to violence or malpractices as he would be compelled to nullify the voting at affected polling stations thereby delaying the announcement of the final results.

Post Master General M. K. B. Dissanayake said that he would request eligible voters who had not received their polling cards as yet to call over at the nearest Post Office or sub Post Office, identify themselves and obtain their Polling card.

Bandula Kulatunga the Senior SLAS official attached to the Elections Secretariat as advisor said that if everything went as planned, the first results of the Postal voting could be announced around midnight today.

The Government had made plans with the help of the Director of Government Information Department, Anusha Pelpita for the Elections Secretariat to announce the results through State and private media.