Commonwealth Election Observers in Sri Lanka
Posted by ZoeWare - 11/02/10 at 03:02 pm![sri-lanka-flag[1]](http://www.thecommonwealthconversation.org/wp-content/uploads/2010/02/sri-lanka-flag1.gif "sri-lanka-flag[1]")
As Commonwealth Election Observers prepare their final report on the Presidential Election held in Sri Lanka on 26th January 2010 there is a growing interest in what they will say, and what it will mean for the Commonwealth.
In their initial press release, the Commonwealth Election Observation Mission, which is being chaired by former Jamaican Foreign Minister Mr K D Knight, said they saw ‘a generally well-administered election day but shortcomings in the pre-election period and incidences of inter-party violence taint election’. Read the full press release here on the Commonwealth Secretariat website.
In an article published in The Times newspaper on 3 February 2010, South Asia correspondent Jeremy Page said that the Sri Lankan election is a rare chance for the Commonwealth to play a leading role on the world stage.
For the first time in two years, the Commonwealth may have a chance to raise concerns about deteriorating political freedom in South Asia’s oldest democracy. If it speaks out, it is sure to upset Sri Lanka and maybe some other Commonwealth members with questionable democratic credentials. If it pulls its punches, however, it risks undermining the Commonwealth’s core principles, and setting a poor precedent for other members.
Read the full article on The Times Online here, and let us know what you think below.
Category : Democracy & Good Governance
Tags: Commonwealth, election observation, Sri Lanka
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February 16th, 2010 at 1:46 pm
Final report issued on Sri Lanka presidential election, 15 Feb 2010
Thank you Election Observation Team:
http://www.thecommonwealth.org/news/34580/220083/150210srilankacetfinalreport.htm
“even though on the day of the election voters were free to express their will, shortcomings primarily in the pre-election period meant that overall the 2010 Presidential elections in Sri Lanka did not fully meet key benchmarks for democratic elections.“
Let us not sweep problems below the carpet. Let us put them on the table and resolve them – the oppressed in Sri Lanka have had it for 62 years – they cannot endure any more.
Now the Commonwealth should start to put its principles into action.
February 16th, 2010 at 2:00 pm
Report:
”Elections in Sri Lanka have historically been violent events. Political parties seem willing to tolerate the use of violence by their supporters against each other. Unfortunately, this election proved to be no exception.”
February 16th, 2010 at 2:20 pm
It is time for the Commonwealth to evict Sri Lanka. The concluded elections are sending clear signals that the minorities are a different people in a country which is becoming a ‘Sinhala Kingdom’ where minorities can longer hold their ethnic identities. Majority-dominated authoritative rule with the assistance of world’s worst human rights abusers is the path the current president has chosen for. And, he is not prepared to heed to Commonwealth or any other civilized world. Anti-western, anti-commonwealth sentiments are what his vote base.
If Pakistan, Zimbabwe etc could be evicted, it is time for Sri Lanka.
Otherwise, Shanghai Pacific Corporation countries look far better than consumerism-sedated Commonwealth.
February 16th, 2010 at 9:21 pm
I like Sandra’s final point – the Commonwealth today looks like a tired, toothless ‘old’ club with pretensions of grandeur while China seems to be cobbling together a more agile, more lucrative club based on transactional value rather than ‘values’.
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:19 am
Sandra
”consumerism-sedated Commonwealth”
Fijiboot
”pretensions of grandeur”
SO TRUE !!
Internal colonialism in an island in a geopolitically strategic location is a good thing for the majority and the deathknell for the minorities.
For tourists, the war-ravaged dryzone of Northeast is well out of the way of the heavenly Southern beaches and the capital Colombo and the enchanting hillcountry.
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:22 am
http://news.rediff.com/slide-show/2010/feb/08/slide-show-1-the-story-of-sri-lanka-then-and-now.htm
The story of Sri Lanka, then and now, Arthur J Pais, 8 February 2010:” Prof Adele Barker(US academic): ”The military presence in the country is enormous, much greater than when I was there in 2006 …. I was stirred by so many things. I was also frustrated by a lot of things. It took me four months to get authorisation from the Ministry of Defence for my son and myself to travel north. Sri Lankans are free now to travel on the main road connecting north and south. For foreigners it is much more difficult.
It was clear to us that the government was not eager to have foreigners or NGOs up there. Strangely, it was easier to go there in 2005 than it was this December. ….’’
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:25 am
Sri Lanka has been one of the worst countries for torture and disappearances according to international human rights organisations.
http://blog.srilankacampaign.org/2010/02/un-human-rights-experts-focus-on-secret.html
UN Human Rights Experts Focus on Secret Detention & Campaign Advisor Calls for Spotlight on 10,000+ LTTE-associated Detainees, 14 February 2010:
”For anyone who has followed methods used over the years in Sri Lanka both directly related to the conflict against the Tamil Tigers and more generally as part of a pattern of repression of political and social dissent, it is not surprising that Sri Lanka receives substantial coverage in the Joint Report. …. The UN Human Rights Council experts within the special procedures system must immediately follow up the above very brief paragraph on the post-war detainees in the Joint Report with concentrated and persistent efforts to shed the light of external scrutiny on the government of Sri Lanka in an effort to secure effective access of trained monitors who can help ensure that future torture and executions – assuming, as I do, that such torture and executions may well already have occurred – are made much less likely.”
March 3rd, 2010 at 10:29 am
http://www.srilankacampaign.org/goingforward.htm
With these objectives in mind, we make the following demands:
9.All donor countries, all those countries that supported the GoSL at the UN Human Rights Council in May 2009, and members of the Commonwealth to express these same concerns.
March 3rd, 2010 at 11:45 am
Report of the Commonwealth Expert Team
SRI LANKA PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION 26 January 2010:
Recommendations:
Electoral Framework and Election Administration
1 The 17th Amendment to the Constitution needs to be fully implemented to provide for the establishment of all the independent oversight commissions identified in the Amendment.
2 There needs to be a review of voter registration procedures, to identify the most suitable and effective process for the country. The registers in many areas appear to be reasonably accurate, but it is clear that in certain areas substantial updating is required. Further, procedures, possibly through the increased use of IT, should be considered so that the cut-off point for additions to the list is closer to the date of an
election. For instance, the register to be used for the forthcoming 2010 parliamentary elections is the 2008 one, which means that no person turning 18 after this date is provided with the right to vote.
Election Campaign and Media
3 Political parties must address the issue of violence carried out by their supporters. They could consider agreeing on a code of conduct amongst themselves at the start of the election campaign with an aim to eradicate election violence.
4 A mechanism needs to be found to prevent the widespread abuse of state resources during election campaigns. The implementation of the 17th Amendment may help in this regard, as would more effective enforcement of existing guidelines issued by the election management body.
5 The increasing politicisation of the armed forces and civil service is a disturbing trend, which must be reversed.
6 In the interests of accountability and transparency in election campaign financing, consideration should be given to the introduction of legislation to regulate campaign financing and expenditure, with appropriate sanctions for any breach.
7 The democratisation of public media would be greatly strengthened by the transfer of state-run radio and television to a non-political statutory body. This removal of state control would address the very substantial imbalance noted in this report.
8 The introduction of an independent media association or council made up entirely of professionals from both private media and the new statutory body responsible for public media. This would nurture permanent, consistent journalistic ethics. Before each election, this group would be involved with a new independent Elections Commission in devising a democratic, feasible Media Code of Conduct. This would create a measure of self-regulation that would hopefully ensure the commitment by the media to providing an appropriate level of voter education. It would also facilitate a clear balance by the public media in the interests of all citizens and a reasonable measure of balance by the private sector regardless of each media house?s editorial political preference.
Voting, Counting and Results
9 Polling stations should be laid out in a manner that ensures the secrecy of the vote. This requires that polling booths are angled in a way that prevents any person from being able to see inside and that the flow of voters inside the polling stations is designed so as to avoid people walking behind the booths.
10 The role of police at the polling station needs to be clarified to both polling staff and police officers. Police should not be present inside a polling station unless required for the maintenance of order and they should have no role in the conduct of the vote or count.
11 The situation for IDPs needs to be normalised as far as possible and as swiftly as possible. This will help to facilitate the accurate registering of voters, notably in the Northern and Eastern Provinces and the issuing of ID cards. If it is again required to use cluster polling stations for the forthcoming parliamentary elections then adequate transport arrangements need to be put in place to ensure all voters can enjoy their right to vote.
12 It must be ensured that voter information at the polling station is clear. It was noted that the information on the definition of an invalid vote was somewhat mis-leading.
13 National observers should be allowed to observe the count. Exclusion of national observers from this key part of the process is against international standards and decreases transparency. If there are issues of regulating numbers of persons present at counting centres, then limits can be placed that not more than one or two observers from any one accredited national observer organisation should be present at the same time.