Vote rigging, violence tarnish Sri Lanka poll

The closure of checkpoints across the north and east of the country meant thousands of voters were unable to cast their ballots

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka -- Voting in Sri Lanka's blood-soaked elections has ended with officials reporting a high turnout despite charges of polling irregularities and one of the most violent campaigns in the country's recent history.

At least 49 people died in the run up to the election with eight people killed in the night before polling day itself, observers from the independent Center for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) said.

As polling got underway on Wednesday, tens of thousands of minority Tamils were reported to have been blocked from casting their ballots after the government closed military checkpoints in the north and east of the country.

As a result, voters in areas held by the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam -- also known as the Tamil Tigers -- said they were unable to reach polling stations in government controlled areas.

Defense officials said the closure was designed to prevent infiltration by rebel fighters disguised as voters and "ensure free and fair elections".

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Election monitors said the move effectively disenfranchised about 75,000 Tamils, while Tamil parties said upwards of 130,000 voters had been affected.

"This decision will disenfranchise many thousands of voters which I believe will have a significant impact on the outcome in these electoral districts," said John Cushnahan, head of a team of observers from the European Union.

Observers 'attacked'

Tamil opposition candidate Joseph Pararajasingham said the closures amounted to "the daylight murder of democracy".

The rebels have been fighting a long-running guerilla war for a separate Tamil state in the country's north and east that has left more than 64,000 dead.

Elsewhere in the country there were reports of violence and vote rigging, with local and international election monitors in several districts saying they had been attacked by armed gangs.

Other observers said they had seen armed gangs stuffing ballot boxes with fake votes, snatching polling cards, shooting at voters and using vehicles to block access to polling centers.

CMEV has blamed most of the abuses on the ruling People's Alliance. State radio however has blamed for the opposition United National Party (UNP) for the violence.

In last year's poll, voting in several areas was annulled after massive vote rigging was uncovered.

However, this year Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake has been given the power to order re-polling instead of annulling the vote.

Crisis

Wednesday's vote will decide the makeup of a new parliament and comes just 14 months after the previous election which ended in a hung parliament.

President Chandrika Kumaratunga called the election when her People's Alliance (PA) party lost its parliamentary majority plunging the country into month's of political crisis.

The key issues for the country's 12.4 million eligible voters are the floundering economy and whether to intensify the war against the Tigers or seek peace talks.

More than 5,000 candidates representing 29 political parties and 99 independent groups are vying for 225 parliamentary seats.

The vote is essentially a two-horse race between the UNP and the PA.

The parties have been exchanging blows on how to deal with, if not eradicate, the Tamil Tigers, but both say they are committed to a Norwegian-brokered bid to end the conflict.

The UNP favors immediate talks and is more likely to lift a ban on the rebels, their main precondition for talks.

The PA, on the other hand, favors military marginalization of the rebel group, along with a power-sharing deal, but refuses to lift the ban on the group until any talks have made solid progress.

First results from the poll are not expected to be known until early Thursday with final results due by late Friday.