Northern Provincial Council Elections: Pre-Election Survey Results
13
September 2013, Colombo, Sri Lanka: With
the elections for the Northern Provincial Councils coming up next week, most
residents of the Northern Province remain optimistic that it will be a free and
fair election. This was revealed in an opinion poll conducted by Social
Indicator, the survey research unit of the Centre for Policy Alternatives in
August 2013 in the run up to the Northern Provincial Council
Elections.
The
poll did not intend to forecast the election results but rather to assess the
views of the people with regard to the upcoming election, issues that are
important to the community and changes experienced since the end of
war.
Job
opportunities, improving education, housing and improving roads and transport
appear to be the most important issues for people and their community. In the
last four years, majority of the respondents (63.7%) believe that development in
the Northern Province has somewhat improved while 26.1% say that it has greatly
improved. When it comes to personal security, 41.3% state that it has somewhat
improved in the last four years while 21.6% say that there has been no change.
Almost 40% believe that their livelihoods have somewhat improved while 33.9% say
that there has been no change.
When
selecting candidates the most important factor that matter to most respondents
is that candidates are engaged in community service and village development
while honest, suitable candidates with good policies come a close second. Most
respondents appear optimistic about the upcoming election with 34.2% believing
that the NPC elections will be free and fair and while 24% say they may be free
and fair. Almost 34% of respondents believe that the TNA will win the elections
while 21.7% believe it will be the UPFA.
Provincial
Elections in the Northern Province will be held on the 21st of September 2013 -
the first time in 25 years. According to the Department of Elections, 714,488
people are registered to vote.
- CPA press release