Commonwealth Expert Team to Observe Sri Lanka Presidential Election

The Commonwealth has observed the parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka in October 2000 and in May 2004.

A Commonwealth Expert Team, which has been sent by Secretary-General Don McKinnon for the Sri Lanka Presidential Election, began work on 9 November 2005. The team will be led by the former President of Mauritius, Cassam Uteem. The other experts are Cynthia Barrow-Giles, Head of the Department of Government, Sociology and Social Work, University of the West Indies, Barbados; Feroz Hassan, Secretary-General of the Fair Election Monitoring Alliance, Bangladesh; Senator Diana Mahabir-Wyatt, Chair of Trinidad and Tobago Coalition against Domestic Violence; Martha Sayed, Deputy Secretary, Independent Election Commission, Botswana; and Karamjit Singh, Electoral Commissioner, UK Electoral Commission.

The experts will be briefed in the capital, Colombo, by the Commissioner of Elections, representatives of the presidential candidates and their parties, Commonwealth diplomats, international and domestic observers, representatives of civil society, and the state and private media.

The decision to send the Commonwealth Expert Team follows an invitation from the Commissioner of Elections. The Team will observe preparations for the election; the polling, counting and results process; and the overall electoral environment.

The Commonwealth observed the parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka in October 2000 and in May 2004.

Key Links:

• Democracy
• Country Profile: Sri Lanka