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Yahoo! My Yahoo! Mail Yahoo! Search Search: Sign InNew User? Sign Up News Home - Help Navigation Primary Navigation Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular Secondary Navigation Australia China India Indonesia Japan Malaysia Philippines Thailand Vietnam Search Search: Sri Lanka holds postwar polls in northern towns By BHARATHA MALLAWARACHI,Associated Press Writer AP - Sunday, August 9 COLOMBO, Sri Lanka - Sri Lanka hailed elections Saturday near an area once dominated by the Tamil Tiger rebels as the first seeds of democracy sprouting along the former battlefields of its recently ended civil war, but voters largely stayed away from the polls in the violence-scarred region. ADVERTISEMENT Opposition parties accused the ruling coalition of restricting their campaigns, the government barred most media from the region, and voters appeared apathetic in the first elections in the northern cities of Jaffna and Vavuniya since 1998. Voter turnout was less than 25 percent in Jaffna and about 40 percent in Vavuniya, according to election monitors. The cities, where Tamils are a majority, are just outside the shadow state the Tamil Tigers ran as a virtual dictatorship and were frequently hit by violence during the quarter-century civil war. The government recaptured the territory and routed the rebels on the battlefield in May, ending a conflict that killed between 80,000 and 100,000 people. The rebels were fighting for a separate state for minority Tamils after decades of marginalization by governments dominated by the Sinhalese majority. "This is another step toward strengthening democracy in the north," said Douglas Devananda, a government minister from Jaffna. Devananda's Tamil party _ with its armed paramilitary wing _ led the ruling coalition's election slate in Jaffna. Keerthi Tennakoon, national organizer of the Campaign for Free and Fair Elections, said there were no reports of election violence, but the low turnout showed residents had little interest in the voting. "We have undergone a lot of hardship but we have no solutions to our problems. So we are in no mood to vote. It's not going to make any difference," said G. Selvam, a 52-year-old Jaffna resident, explaining why he stayed away from the polls. Six political parties and independent groups fielded 174 candidates in Jaffna, while 135 politicians from nine parties contested seats in Vavuniya. Out of them, 34 will be elected to the municipal councils in the two cities. Results were expected Sunday. The government was also holding an election in Uva province to the south and was likely to get a boost from the recent capture of the rebels' new leader, Selvarasa Pathmanathan. Pathmanathan, the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam's former chief weapons smuggler, was arrested in Southeast Asia and sent back to Sri Lanka, where he was being questioned, the government said Friday. Sri Lankan defense spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella said the arrest showed "that we are capable of demolishing any future emergence of the LTTE." Tennakoon said about 50 percent of eligible voters turned out in Uva. Despite the rebels' defeat, both Jaffna and Vavuniya remain surrounded by government checkpoints and are accessible only with written permission from the Defense Ministry. Even residents can't leave without permission. The main opposition United National Party said its lawmakers had to obtain permission to enter the cities for campaigning. The government has refused permission for reporters to cover the elections _ though ruling party dignitaries brought reporters on their campaign trips _ saying journalists would have to rely on official statements for their coverage. Paris-based Reporters Without Borders said the decision to bar the media "dashes any hope of a transparent election." Nearly 300,000 Tamil civilians who fled the war zone during the final months of fighting also are being held in camps near the two cities. Suresh Premachandran, a lawmaker from the Tamil National Alliance _ seen as a front for the rebels _ said the elections were just a government show. "The Tamil people do not want an election at this time when hundreds of thousands of their relatives are held in government camps," he said. Email Story IM Story Printable View Blog This Sign in to recommend this article » 0 users recommend Related Articles: Asia Pacific Afghan challenger blasts government securityAP - Sunday, August 9 Hong Kong firm to pay Australia $21m for toxic oil spillAFP - Sunday, August 9 One killed as Typhoon Morakot rips through TaiwanAFP - Sunday, August 9 Sri Lanka holds postwar polls in northern townsAP - Sunday, August 9 Exiled Uighur activist say she is 'woman of peace'AP - Sunday, August 9 Most Popular – Asia Pacific Viewed Manson murders back in spotlight 40 years on Taiwan's Jay Chou goes to Hollywood: report Turn in US jobs data boosts recovery hopes State-rescued bank RBS mired in bad debts Freddie Mac swings to profit, after steep losses View Complete List » Search: Home Singapore Asia Pacific World Business Entertainment Sports Technology Top Stories Most Popular Copyright © 2009 Yahoo! Southeast Asia Pte Ltd. (Co. Reg. No. 199700735D). All Rights Reserved. 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