UN UNABLE TO SEND OBSERVERS FOR SRI LANKAN ELECTIONS

The United Nations said it is unable to meet a request by Sri Lankato send observers for the Jan. 26 presidential election because of time constraints.

“In the light of the limited lead time available, and since, as per practice, the United Nations election observation requires a mandate from the General Assembly” the UN won’t provide observers, Martin Nesirky, a spokesman for Secretary- General Ban Ki-moon said in New York.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa called the election two years before his mandate expires as he bids to capitalize on his government defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in May, ending a 26-year fight for a separate Tamil homeland. The U.K.last month said Sri Lankamust ensure the ballot covers all communities, including Tamils in the north and east.

The leading challenger to 64-year-old Rajapaksa is opposition candidate General Sarath Fonseka, the former army chief who led the battle against the Tigers. Fonseka, 59, this week won backing from the Tamil National Alliance, which holds 22 seats in the 225-member parliament.

Sri Lanka’s first election in recent history to be held in a unitary state will be free and fair, Cabinet spokesman Anura Priyadarshana Yapa said last month. Parliamentary elections will follow some time before April.

Comments

Ukrainians injured as police dismantle Kiev 'tent city'

At least 10 demonstrators have been injured in clashes with Ukrainian police and another 100 detained in the capital Kiev after authorities began dismantling a makeshift "tent city" protesting against corruption. The tent city was set up in October by supporters of Mikheil Saakashvili, a former president of Georgia who has become an opposition politician in Ukraine. Saakashvili, a critic of corruption in Ukraine, was deported to Poland in February. He said he was "kidnapped" by Ukrainian authorities and removed from the country against his will. Andriy Kryshchneko, police chief of police, said at the camp on Saturday that "two court decisions" allowed authorities to search and dismantle the camp. Police said that explosives and other weapons were found at the scene

ASSIGNING OF PREFERENTIAL NUMBERS FOR LG POLLS COMPLETED

The Election Secretariat announced that assigning preferential numbers for candidates of the Local Government election to be held for 67 bodies has been completed. Preparations are currently underway to hold the polls under the 2010 electoral register, Additional Elections Commissioner W.P. Sumanasiri said. The electoral register of the year 2010 is scheduled to be certified on June 31.

In abrupt turnaround, Olympus admits it hid losses

Japan's Olympus admitted on Tuesday it hid losses on securities investments dating back two decades, bowing to weeks of pressure to explain a series of baffling transactions that have put the future of the firm in doubt. The revelations by the 92-year-old company appear to vindicate ex-CEO Michael Woodford, who has staged a campaign since being sacked on October 14 to force the firm to come clean on nearly $1.5 billion in questionable payments. Olympus President Shuichi Takayama blamed Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, who quit as president and chairman on October 26, Vice-President Hisashi Mori and internal auditor Hideo Yamada for the cover-up, saying he would consider criminal complaints against them. The admission after weeks of denials shocked investors, sending shares in the endoscope and camera maker skidding almost 30 percent and prompting the biggest non-Japanese shareholder to demand the replacement of the entire board. "Ignorance is no defense," said Jo...

Share Blogs

Search This Blog