Despite the Election Commission (EC) not inviting foreign election monitors for the upcoming election, some foreign election observers were to arrive in the island of their own accord. EC Director General Saman Sri Ratnayake told The Sunday Morning that the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) could be coming to observe the election. “We have not invited any international monitors, but I believe they are to arrive to carry out an observation of the election process. We have already given approval for them to arrive,” Rathnayake said. EC Deputy Commissioner S.H. Achchudan too said that no foreign monitors were invited. “We decided not to invite international monitors this time due to the Covid-19 pandemic, but ANFREL is scheduled to come. However, all costs will be borne by them and not the Election Commission,” he said. Meanwhile, US Embassy Spokeswoman Nancy Van Horne told The Sunday Morning that the Embassy was unaware of any US election monitors coming to Sri Lanka. “The US Embassy is not bringing any American observers to Sri Lanka for the election. We are not aware of any independent American observers now here or planning to be here,” Horne told The Sunday Morning. – Skandha Gunasekara