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Sri Lankan polls see low turnout

Sri Lankans trickled to the polls yesterday in the turbulent eastern city of Batticaloa to vote in the first municipal elections since government forces took control of the east last year from ethnic Tamil rebels.

Though thousands of police and soldiers patrolled the streets, many residents only warily came to polling stations in the city, which has been plagued by chaos and violence blamed on armed militia groups vying for power in the wake of the rebel defeat.

A high turnout was crucial to the government, which held the polls despite boycotts by some political parties and protests from human rights groups that said the level of violence and intimidation made it impossible to hold a fair vote.

Hoping to prevent violence, the government flooded the area with police. Soldiers armed with assault rifles stood guard every few meters, checking vehicles on the near empty road leading into town, while other troops patrolled in armored personnel carriers.

Few people turned out to vote when polling started at 7am.

Turnout improved by mid morning, and the elections appeared to be free of violent incidents.

Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa billed the vote as a crucial step toward democracy for the region after the military defeated the Tamil Tigers last July after 13 years of rebel rule.

Violence, much of it blamed on armed groups, has plagued the area since then. Many of the militias are running in the election.

One mayoral candidate, Edwin Krishnanandaraja, known better by his rebel nom de guerre Pradeep Master, said the militia had just entered the "democratic stream" and hoped to disarm "gradually."

He dismissed allegations that his rebel group forcibly recruited children, extorted money from businessmen and was behind rampant violence and killings. The group has also been accused of forcing community leaders to run on its ticket.

Opposition parties and rights groups and said the polls were irredeemably tainted by violence.

Meanwhile, a powerful bomb ripped through a commercial area of Sri Lanka's capital on Monday, killing one man and wounding six others, police said.

The improvised explosive device was hidden in a flower bed on the central median of the Colombo-Galle highway, military spokesman Udaya Nanayakkara said.

"One person was killed and six others were wounded and taken to hospital," a police officer said, adding that investigations showed the man who was blown to pieces had tried to touch the device.
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