Colombo: Sri Lanka has denied any move to postpone the Eastern Provincial Council elections scheduled for May 10, which are being held after a gap of 16 years.

"We deny there is any such moves to postpone the polls for the Provincial Council in the East. As of now there is no such thinking and the polls will go ahead on schedule," a government spokesman and senior minister Keheliya Rambukwella told reporters yesterday. Rambukwella charged the former minister and Leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, Rauff Hakim with giving false information in this regard.

He dismissed it as an allegation based on false information given by certain groups that accuse the government of not wanting to conduct the Eastern elections in a peaceful manner. He said the Elections Commissioner had made preparations to conduct a free and fair election in the Eastern Province like the one held for the local body polls in Batticaloa recently.

The spokesman assured that there was no need to worry about the security situation during the time of polls and that additional forces including police had been stationed in the East to meet any unforeseen incidents.

To another question on whether the government would disarm and collect the weapons from the rebel-LTTE TMVP party led by Pillayan on the eve of the polls, Rambukwella queried how the government could take back weapons that was not given.

Earlier this week, Hakim during a party meeting said he feared the elections for the Provincial Council in Eastern Sri Lanka could be postponed due to security reasons. He said SLMC would oppose any move to defer the polls. "We want the election to be held as scheduled and our party is in a position to face it successfully and we will not run away," he said.

Meanwhile, the preparation for the polls are in full swing and as a first step the government is making arrangements for postal ballot. Nominations for these elections have been called from March 27 to April 3.

Source : PTI