Few Incidents Reported During Northern Provincial Council Elections-N Gopalaswamy

The head of the South Asian Elections Monitory Group which observed the election activities in Northern Provincial Council Elections N.Gopalaswamy has said today(23) that few incidents like changing ballot boxes occurred in some polling booths in Northern Province and they have informed on this to the Elections Commissioner.

Mr.Goplaswamy who is also the former Elections Commissioner in India has said that they will handover a report on their observations done  during provincial council elections in north soon to the Elections Commissioner .speaking at a press briefing held in Hotel Galadari,Colombo this evening he has stressed that the details on whether the election held in free and fair manner too will be revealed through the report.

To make Sri Lankan Election System  a free and fair one more powers should be vested to the Elections Commissioner Mr.Gopalaswami has further said.

Ruling UPFA Has Become Vicorious In North Western And Central Provincial Council Elections

The Ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance(UPFA) has won both the  North Western and Central Provincial Council Elections held Yesterday(21) with clear majority .The ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance has secured 36 out of 56 seats of the Central Provincial Council with 716,247 votes while main opposition United National Party(UNP) has manged to secure 16 seats with 338,015 votes.

Meanwhile pushing third party force Janata Wimukthi Peramuna(JVP) fourth place the Democratic Party lead by former army commander general Sarath Fonseka has emerged as the new third party force in Sri Lankan politics by securing 02 seats in central provincial council with 45,239 votes.

In North Western Provincial Council Elections ruling UPFA again received highest number of votes to secure 34 out of the 52 seats in the council with 750,188 votes.the UNP has won 12 seats with 257,011 votes while Democratic Party of General Fonseka has won 03 seats with 46,114 votes.Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and JVP have secured 02 and 01 seats respectively.

Out of the two provincial council elections held in north western and central provinces the leftist JVP has only able to secure one seat .

TNA Has Secured Two Third Victory In Northern Provincial Council Elections

The ITAK alias Tamil National Alliance(TNA) party has won the Northern Provincial Council Elections held  yesterday by two third majority

Out of the 38 seats in the Provincial Council TNA has won 30 seats including 2 bonus seats while the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance(UPFA) has manged to secure seven seats and it's ally Sri Lanka Muslim Congress(SLMC) two seats.

As surprised to many TNA has able to secured a land slide victory over  Government ally EPDP  dominated islands in Jaffna including Kytes Island.In Kytes Island  TNA has secured the victory by beating the ruling UPFA by 4753 votes.TNA has become victorious in Kilinochchi and Mulativu Districts as well by  pushing aside UPFA and it's ally SLMC backwards to win with majority of votes.

Speaking on the land slide victory his party has achieved in the northern provincial council elections where people in the north exercised their franchise after 25 years,the spokesman of TNA MP Suresh Premachandran has said that despite the heavy political influence people in the north have given  them a clear mandate through the election results.

ITAK Party Has Secured Victory In Both Kilinochchi And Mulativu Districts Of The Northern Provinical Council

According to the final results issued by Elections Department short while ago on  Kilinochchchi and Mulativu Districts, ITAK allias Tamil National Alliance (TNA) has secured victory in both districts of the Northern Provincial Council.

The Elections Results-
Kilinochchi District- ITAK Party has received a total number of 37,079 votes(81.57%) and secured 3 seats in the new  provincial council.the ruling UPFA(United Peoples Freedom Alliance) received 7897 votes  (17.3%) with 1 seat. EDF has received 300 votes(0.66%) with no seats.

Mulativu District Results-
ITAK Party-28,266 votes(78.56%) secured 4 seats.
UPFA Party-7209 votes(20.04%) secured 1 seat
SLMC Party-199 votes(0.55%) with no seats.

For further details visit Elections Department web site through  http://www.slelections.gov.lk/

People In The Northern Province Castes Their Votes Today(21) For The First Time In 25 Years

The voting of  the First Elections held in   de-merged Northern Province  after 25 years to elect 36 members to Northern Provincial Council was concluded this evening with a large number of voter turn out.residents in Northern Province have voted in large numbers since this morning at the 850 polling stations situated in the province to elect members for the northern provincial for a five year term.

The voting for electing members from Jaffna,Kilinochchi,Mannar,Mulativu and Vavuniya Districts for the provincial council was began at 7 a.m today and concluded at 4 p.m  .the voting was held peacefully amid tight security .around 715,000 residents are eligible for vote in this elections and 2000 local and international observers including observers of SAARC and Commonwealth countries are engaged in election monitoring activities according to Elections Department.

The Elections Department has says that 65%, of registered voters in Vavuniya District,68% in Kilinochchi District,70% in Mannar District  71% in Mulativu and 60% in Jaffna District have castes  their votes since this morning.

This is the first time that people in the  North have been voted to elect a post war administration in their province which was earlier  under the control of LTTE .the province was freed from LTTE after it was militarily defeated by the Sri Lankan Army in 2009.

Although Provincial Council elections for the central and north western provinces  too been held today both local and international communities are eying on  the northern provincial council elections as people their voted for the first time in 25 years.

MICU Of The Kalubowila Teaching Hospital Has Been Crippled Due To Transferring Of Seven doctors

The Medical Intensive Care Unit (MICU) of the Kalubowila Teaching Hospital has been crippled since last week due to the transferring of seven of the senior medical officers attached there to other hospitals without any replacement according to hospital sources.

Due to this situation new admissions to the MICU has been suspended the sources added.as the health ministry secretary Dr.Nihal Jayathilake has instructed all medical administrators of government hospitals through a circular to implement annual doctors transfers with or without replacements medical administrators too transferred some senior medical officers attach to special units in hospitals without awaiting for the replacements sources added.

As a result patients getting treatment from government hospitals are suffering heavily government doctors said.

Supreme Court Has Issued An Interim Order To Prevent Printing Pictorial Warnings In Cigarette Packets

The Supreme Court has today(20) issued an interim order preventing the implementation of printing pictorial warnings on  the cigarette packets covering 80% of the packet space.The Ministry Of Health has issued a gazette notification in August 2012 stating the need to carry pictorial warnings in front of cigarette packets on deadly diseases caused by smoking .

However the Tobacco Companies operating in Sri Lanka have filed a case in Supreme Court against the gazette notification by stating that the companies do not have enough time to produce their opinion on the decision and carrying pictorial warnings on cigarette packets covering 80% of the space is not practical enough.

The  three Judge Panel of the Supreme Court who were heard this case today compromising Judges Eva Wanasundera,Sathya Hettige and Salim Mershook have issued the interim order preventing  implementing the  Gazette Notification regarding carrying pictorial warnings until 22nd January 2014.the court proceeding scheduled to  be resumed on that day.

The Minister Of Health has been recently received an international award from World Health Organization for signing the said gazette notification to implement pictorial warnings in cigarette packets.

The Buddhist Clergy too urged the government last week to implement the said gazette notification without any delay.