Indian observers to monitor Sri Lankan elections

COLOMBO: Sri Lanka's upcoming presidential elections next year will be monitored by election observers from 35 countries, including India.

The election monitoring NGO, Peoples Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) said it has arranged 35 foreign observers to monitor the upcoming presidential election, the Colombo Page reported yesterday.

Executive Director of PAFFREL, Rohana Hettiarachchi said the 35 observers representing Bangladesh, Thailand, the Philippines, Nepal, Afghanistan, Japan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Pakistan, and India and they are well experienced in observing elections around the world.

The foreign monitors will be in Sri Lanka for two weeks observing election related activities, he said.

In addition to foreign observers, PAFFREL is planning to deploy 13,000 local observers island wide to monitor the presidential election expected to be held in January next year.

Sri Lanka President Mahinda Rajapaksa came to power in 2005 and won a second presidential term in January 2010, following the defeat of the Tamil Tiger rebels a year earlier.