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2020 general election: CMEV says only part of health guidelines gazetted

21 Jul 2020

All guidelines required for elections gazette says Ministry  By Maheesha Mudugamuwa The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) urged the Government to gazette the remaining provisions in the originally published “Health Guidelines for Conducting the Elections amidst the Covid-19 Outbreak”. They alleged that only part of the health guidelines that had originally been issued had been published in the gazette. According to the CMEV,  the maximum number of persons permitted to attend a meeting has been increased from 100 to 300, and 500 if the party leader is attending. The maximum number of persons permitted to engage in door-to-door canvassing has been increased from three to five and numerous provisions in the original guidelines have been omitted from the gazetted regulations altogether, including provisions relating to checking and bundling ballot papers at district returning offices (Section 2.5 of the original guidelines); polling booths (Section 2.9); conducting the election in quarantine centres (Section 2.10); receiving ballot boxes at counting centres (Section 2.11); counting centre etiquette (Section 2.12); results tabulation centres (Section 2.13); transportation of staff and materials (Section 2.14); special instructions for police officers (Section 3); disinfection (Section 4); waste disposal (Section 5); after election procedures (Section 6). Also missing in the gazette is the health administrative structure to implement the guidelines, found in Section 7. However, the CMEV urged the Minister of Health and Indigenous Medical Services and the Director General of Health Services to gazette the guidelines; provide an explanation to the voting public as to why the originally published guidelines have been relaxed in this manner and about the steps they will take if the relaxed guidelines contribute to the pandemic situation becoming worse; work with healthcare workers, particularly PHIs, to resolve existing issues; and promote the regulations and educate the public. Meanwhile, when contacted by The Morning, Ministry of Health Media Spokesman Viraj Abeysinghe said that the Ministry had included the health guidelines that were necessary to conduct the election in a safe manner and those which have been requested by the Election Commission (EC). “Out of all the guidelines, the Ministry had chosen the guidelines that had been requested by the EC to maintain a free, fair, and healthy election during the Covid-19 pandemic,” he noted.    


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