Thursday Dec 12, 2024
Thursday Dec 12, 2024
Thursday, 30 July 2020 00:15 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
The Election Commission has requested Sri Lankans who have returned from abroad and wish to vote, to bring their passports in addition to their National Identity Card (NIC) when they come to the polling booth on Election Day.
The decision to ask such voters to bring their passports in addition to the NIC was made following complaints received by the EC, over attempts being made to rig the election by making fake ID cards of registered voters residing abroad.
“The official polls cards of electors who have gone abroad have been posted to their addresses they have included in the electoral register of 2019. The Commission has received complaints regarding bonus identity cards being made to rig the votes of the electors who have gone abroad and have not yet returned to the island,” the EC said.
The Commission said that any such voter who fails to bring the passport, even though he/she produces any other valid identity document, will have to make a declaration on the specimen as required by the Parliamentary Elections Act. A ballot paper will not be issued to voters who decline to make such a declaration. while action will be taken to hand over to the Police such persons for attempted vote rigging, the EC said.
The EC had taken steps to obtain details from the Grama Sevaka Niladhari and enter the names of Sri Lankans who are working abroad in the electoral register, so as to facilitate the polling staff to verify the identity of any such voter who comes to the polling booth and demands a ballot.
The identification documents valid for the poll are as follows:
