Sri Lanka braces for crucial eastern provincial poll

Irish Sun (IANS) Thursday 8th May, 2008

The government has set the stage for a crucial provincial election in eastern Sri Lanka Saturday, a year after wresting control of the area from Tamil Tiger guerrillas.

The election is the first poll to be held in 20 years for the eastern provincial council. Voters will choose from hundreds of candidates from 18 political parties to fill 35 seats.

Nearly one million eligible voters from three districts - Trincomalee, Batticaloa and Ampara - will be under heavy security as they head to polling stations manned by 15,000 election officers Saturday.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa, whose ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) is one of the main contenders, believes that the poll is an acid test for voters to determine whether the liberation of the province has benefited the people living there.

'The voters have to decide whether to vote for the UPFA and continue with the development or vote for the opposition and help the LTTE leader Velupillai Prabhakaran to regain control,' Rajapaksa said, referring to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam leader who have waged a violent secessionist campaign since the 1970s.

Rajapaksa and the UPFA claim that a victory to the main opposition United National Party (UNP) will enable the rebels to re-enter the area.

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