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2020 General Election: No voting for the quarantined

02 Aug 2020

Can vote once quarantine period completed

The Election Commission (EC), based on the instructions given by the Attorney General’s (AG) Department and the Ministry of Health, has decided to provide facilities for those who have completed the 14-day quarantine to cast their votes on Wednesday, 5 August, The Sunday Morning learnt. Accordingly, the previous decision taken by the EC to provide facilities for those who are at quarantine centres has been repealed and those who are now undergoing the quarantine process at centres countrywide and at homes would not be allowed to vote at the forthcoming parliamentary election, Director General of Elections Saman Sri Ratnayake said. He told The Sunday Morning that the AG’s Department had instructed the Commission not to allow those who are at quarantine centres to vote, along with those who are currently undergoing home quarantine and have not completed the first 14-days. Those who have completed the 14-day quarantine period would only be allowed to cast their vote at the forthcoming election under the strict supervision of the Medical Officers of Health (MOH) of the area, between 4 p.m. and 5 p.m. on the polling day, Ratnayake explained. As learnt by The Sunday Morning, the Health Ministry had already provided necessary guidelines for the EC on how to provide facilities for those who are undergoing quarantine. The Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) urged the EC to adhere to the health guidelines issued by the Ministry of Health during the election, especially when providing facilities for those who are in quarantine to cast their vote. Meanwhile, Chief Epidemiologist of the Ministry of Health Dr. Sudath Samaraweera stressed the need to maintain no contact at all with those who are undergoing quarantine. “The public should not have any contact with those who are undergoing quarantine at present,” he said.      


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