U.S. Embassy Statement on Provincial Elections
September 22, 2013
We congratulate the people of Sri Lanka on their historic Provincial Council elections on September 21. The high turn-out and participation in all three of the provinces holding elections is a victory for the democratic process.We remain concerned about reports of elections violence, however, and urge a transparent and independent investigation into the various attacks and that the perpetrators be brought to justice swiftly. Particularly troubling have been reports of involvement by uniformed individuals in these acts.
A process free of violence and intimidation in the Northern Province is required for greater civilian administration and to help further the reconciliation process four years after the war. These elections provided a starting point for that process. Democracy is not simply about elections, however, and more must be done to ensure that Sri Lankans of all communities can live in the peace and dignity that they deserve.
Sri Lanka’s war-hit ethnic Tamils vote resoundingly for wider autonomy in provincial elections
JAFFNA, Sri Lanka — Sri Lanka’s main ethnic Tamil party earned a convincing victory in the country’s northern provincial elections, according to results released Sunday, in what is seen as a resounding call for wider regional autonomy in areas ravaged by a quarter century of civil war.
The Tamil National Alliance will form the first functioning provincial government in the northern Tamil heartland after securing 30 out of 38 seats in Saturday’s polls, Sri Lanka’s elections commission said. President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s coalition won the rest of the
The win provides a platform for the TNA to campaign for an autonomous federal state, although the provincial council is largely a toothless body.
The Tamils have fought unsuccessfully for self-rule for six decades, at first through a peaceful struggle and then the bloody civil war.
The elections were seen by the international community as a test of reconciliation between the Tamils and the majority ethnic Sinhalese, who control Sri Lanka’s government and military.
“We asked the people (for votes), and the people have given. Now it’s our turn to reciprocate,” said the chief minister-elect of Northern Province, retired Supreme Court Justice C.V. Wigneswaran.
“The government has to learn from our victory,” he said. “The people have spoken democratically ... the people have shown in no uncertain terms what their aspirations are. So I am sure the government will take stock of the matter and help us to make democracy work in the Northern Provincial Council.”
The campaigning period and election day were marked by sporadic attacks and threats against TNA supporters, including some allegedly by uniformed army soldiers.
The U.S. Embassy said in a statement that the involvement of uniformed individuals in election violence was “particularly alarming,” adding that a process free of violence and intimidation is needed to further post-war reconciliation.
Rajapaksa called the elections after much international criticism that he delayed fulfilling wartime promises to share power with the minority Tamils. The largely successful conduct of the election could deflect some pressure off the government ahead of a Commonwealth country leaders’ meeting in November in Colombo, Sri Lanka’s capital.
The government has rejected international calls that it has not thoroughly investigated alleged war crimes committed by its troops at the end of the war, when, according to a U.N. report, they may have killed 40,000 Tamil civilians. The Tamil Tiger rebels have also been accused of widespread war crimes, including the forced recruiting of child soldiers.
The election results also suggest that a vast majority of voters prefer self-rule over Rajapaksa’s effort to win them over through infrastructure development.
The provincial council, however, is mostly powerless and will have to contend with a governor appointed by the central government who will control most of the council’s affairs, which could cause rifts.
But the two-thirds majority on the provincial council means Wigneswaran can follow through with his threat to call for a no-confidence vote against the governor.
