Polls chief expects foreign monitors

Saturday, 13 July 2013 00:27 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya expects foreign monitors to be present for the Northern Provincial Council Elections in September. Addressing the media, Deshapriya said that it is an accepted international practice for foreign monitors to be present at key elections. He noted that there is no law that foreign monitors should be or should not be invited for local elections. “Since this is the first election being held for the Northern Provincial Council, it is reasonable for someone to ask for international monitors. Disregarding such requests is not right even though there is no law that says international monitors are a must. Someone can then ask why not have international monitors when it was done before,” he said. Deshapriya said that the final decision on who can be invited is taken by the Elections Commissioner in consultation with the political parties. Meanwhile, he also said that the Elections Department has estimated Rs. 1,500 million as the cost to conduct the three provincial council elections in September. He said that with the electricity tariffs going up, the cost to hold the election has also increased. The Elections Commissioner also said that between 5 to 31 August, election campaigning will be banned close to examination centres during the Advanced Level exam and Year Five scholarship exams. (Colombo Gazette)

Discover Kapruka, the leading online shopping platform in Sri Lanka, where you can conveniently send Gifts and Flowers to your loved ones for any event including Valentine ’s Day. Explore a wide range of popular Shopping Categories on Kapruka, including Toys, Groceries, Electronics, Birthday Cakes, Fruits, Chocolates, Flower Bouquets, Clothing, Watches, Lingerie, Gift Sets and Jewellery. Also if you’re interested in selling with Kapruka, Partner Central by Kapruka is the best solution to start with. Moreover, through Kapruka Global Shop, you can also enjoy the convenience of purchasing products from renowned platforms like Amazon and eBay and have them delivered to Sri Lanka.