The statue of former Tamil National Alliance (TNA) parliamentarian and human rights lawyer, Nadarajah Raviraj was covered with several different cloths following a recount controversy involving two TNA candidates in Jaffna last night. 

Nadarajah Raviraj’s statue in Chavakachcheri was covered in black cloth on his face and red and yellow cloth on the bottom half of his statue this morning.

^{Photo: Twitter/@GotabayaR}

Police Legal Division Director SSP Ruwan Gunasekara, said that rallies and parades are banned until a week after the results of the parliamentary elections are announced.

The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) suffered high profile losses in Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections this week, losing seats to paramilitary groups, government-aligned organisations and other Tamil nationalist parties, amidst allegations of election fraud.

Tensions build over in Jaffna in the early hours of the morning, with Sri Lankan security forces attacking Tamils who had gathered outside Jaffna Central College where a recount was taking place. The dramatic recount stretched late into the night in Jaffna, as TNA members were engaged within an intra-party battle over preferential votes, in a close fight to secure seats.

The recount of preferential votes in Jaffna has caused controversy within the TNA and amidst the wider Tamil community, as Praviinaa Raviraj - daughter of assassinated TNA MP Raviraj and current TNA candidate Sashikala Raviraj - suggested some foul-play had occurred in the recount.

Sri Lanka’s Rajapaksa clan have dominated the island’s general elections this week, with the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) sweeping polls on a staunchly Sinhala nationalist campaign and putting the party firmly in control of parliament.

BREAKING - Sri Lankan police officers and armed Special Task Force troops have attacked Tamils in Jaffna, as they gathered outside an election office where a recount is currently taking place.#srilankaelection2020 #SriLankaElection

Indian prime minister Narenda Modi called Sri Lankan prime minister Mahinda Rajapaksa earlier today to congratulate him on an “impressive electoral performance by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) party,” according to an official Indian statement.

^{Photo: Facebook/Chavakachcheri Hindu Primary School}

A man was victim to voter fraud at the Chavakachcheri Hindu Primary School polling station in Jaffna on Wednesday.

Updated 23.55 GMT

The Rajapaksa’s Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna's (SLPP) have swept polls across the South on their Sinhala nationalist platform as predicted, whilst the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) lost seats in the North-East, with final results just announced in Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections.

As results were still being declared Indian prime minister Narendra Modi called Mahinda Rajapaksa to congratulate him on the polls, stating the clan had put in an “impressive electoral performance” according to an official press release. 

Polls closed in Sri Lanka’s parliamentary elections on Wednesday with an all island turnout of 71%, and an even higher turnout in many regions across the North-East.

Though across the island the figure is a six percent decrease in turnout when compared to the elections in 2015, some had expected it to be much lower due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Sri Lankan Prime Minister and leader of the SLPP, Mahinda Rajapaksa, told reporters that he was confident his party would secure a two-thirds majority, and if not he would “make arrangements” if the party does not receive it during the election.

Speaking to journalists at Weeraketiya, where he cast his vote, Rajapaksa claimed;

Basil Rajapaksa, the National Organizer of Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) announced that those who left the party during the Yahapalana government would be welcomed back to the party but would be held at a political distance, as parliamentary polls closed earlier today. 

Sri Lanka’s Police Media Division Director, SSP Jaliya Senaratne, has told reporters that police officers are permitted to use firearms during the election period “even in the event of a death”.