Sat, Aug 3, 2013, 07:40 pm SL Time, ColomboPage News Desk, Sri Lanka.
Aug 03, Colombo: Sri Lanka's main opposition United National Party (UNP) has requested for election observers from the Commonwealth to monitor the forthcoming provincial council election.
The UNP made the request when a delegation of the party had met with officials from the Commonwealth Secretariat who are currently visiting Sri Lanka.
The UNP delegation led by party secretary MP Tissa Attanayake called on the Commonwealth officials to make arrangements to send election observers from the Commonwealth to monitor the provincial council elections, especially the Northern Provincial Council election.
The Election Department last month said a team of Commonwealth election monitors will arrive in Sri Lanka in the first week of August to cover the pre-election phase of the upcoming Provincial Council elections.
The Commonwealth will deploy three teams to cover the Provincial Council elections scheduled for September 21. The three teams will cover the pre-election period, the election day and the post-election period.
The UNP says the abuse of state resources and intimidation of opposition candidates have already commenced in the run up to the polls.