The Human Rights Commission of Sri Lanka (HRCSL) has rejected a report by UK based charity Freedom From Torture, which detailed cases of torture that continues under the present Sri Lankan government.

“We cannot accept such claims,” said the Legal Secretary and Media Spokesman of the HRCSL Nimal Punchihewa.

“HRCSL officials visit Sri Lankan prisons on regular basis but no incident of torture has been reported and we have not received any complaints,” he added.

He went on to tell The Sunday Leader that HRCSL officials visit prisons once a month and denied they had received complaints of torture. He also denied arrests were continuing to take place under the Prevention of Terrorism Act.

Updated 22:00 BST

Results from the Tamil-dominated North-East reveal an overwhelming victory for the Tamil National Alliance.

As the results of the preferential votes come through, in the Jaffna district, S Sritharan received 72,158 votes, Mavai Senathirajah 58,782 votes, M A Sumanthiran 58,043 votes, Siddarththan 53,743 votes and E Saravanabavan 43,719 votes.

In comparison to the 2010 parliamentary election results, initial results in the predominantly Tamil speaking regions indicate a rise in support for the TNA and Tamil National People's Front (TNPF), which both agreed on the necessity for an international accountability process into Sri Lanka's mass atrocities.

See Tamil election pledges below:

TNA manifesto calls for constitutional change that accepts Tamil right to self-determination (25 Jul 2015)

TNPF calls for internationally mediated political solution acknowledging 'two sovereign nations' in one country (14 August 2015)

International investigation is essential agree Tamil political parties across North-East (02 August 2015)

Wigneswaran urges Tamils to vote for 'justice, homeland and self-determination’ (14 August 2015)

In a letter to Tamil donors, the Tamil National Alliance spokesperson, Suresh Premachandran, thanked the diaspora for its support and said he would ensure a further “international investigation” into the findings of the UN investigation into Sri Lanka's mass atrocities, whilst also raising awareness in the international community about the “Tamil genocide.”

Urging donors to speak to their friends and families in “our Tamil Eelam,” Mr Premachandran pledged further to stop “unpatriotic Tamil MPs who beg appeasement from the Sri Lankan Sinhala government.”

The run up to the elections saw the ruling UNF majority Sinhala coalition and the UPFA Sinhala majority opposition reject Tamil demands for fully devolved federalism, acknowledgement of the Tamil right to self-determination, de-militarisation of the North-East and international justice mechanisms.

Speaking on BBC World News, Tamil Guardian's Sutharshan Sukumaran, said that as with previous elections, "the full spectrum of Sinhala majority parties have rejected Tamil demands in the run up to elections."

Updated 0730 GMT

Sri Lanka’s former president Mahinda Rajapaksa reportedly conceded defeat in the island’s general elections and stated he will be an opposition member of parliament.

AFP reports Mr Rajapaksa as saying:

Investigating the abduction of six Tamil youth from Colombo, Police spokesperson ASP Ruwan Gunasekera said, “these abductions have taken place during the latter part of the war and they had been detained at Navy camps in Trincomalee and at Chaithya Road in Colombo”.

“National identity cards of these abducted youths had been found in the possession of one Navy officer at the time of his arrest,” he added.

No one has yet been charged with the abductions.

The spokesperson went on to state that whilst two of the suspected navy officers had since retired, “it is also stated that some, who are still in service, are making efforts to safeguard the suspects”.

Tamils cast their vote in the North-East. (Photograph Tamilwin).

Polls opened this morning local time for Sri Lanka's parliamentary election. Tamils awoke today to elect an expected maximum 18 MPs to seek constitutional change within a 225 seat Sinhala majority parliament where there has been a rejection of Tamil demands from across the spectrum of Sinhala majority political parties.

The election has seen the return of the formerly defeated president, Mahinda Rajapaksa, to run on as the Sri Lankan Freedom Party (SLFP) candidate against the United National Party, which has formed a coalition together with smaller parties including the JHU - the United National Front (UNF).

The ruling UNF majority Sinhala coalition as well as the UPFA Sinhala majority opposition have rejected Tamil demands for fully devolved federalism, acknowledgement of the Tamil right to self-determination, de-militarisation of the North-East and international justice mechanisms. 

Amid credible reports of ongoing torture in Sri Lanka, Tamils in the militarised North-East have been clear in reiterating their demands however, which stem from over six decades of seeking solutions within Sinhala majoritarianism in parliament.

As campaigning has heated up over recent weeks, the Tamil parties have launched their campaigns precisely on these very issues that remain of the greatest significance to the Tamil electorate. The two main Tamil parties - the Tamil National Alliance (TNA) and the Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) have said they will seek constitutional change to fully devolve powers to the North-East  through a federal solution and recognise Tamils as a nation on the island, as well as proceeding to seek an international process to deal with the findings of the upcoming UN investigation in to Sri Lanka’s mass atrocities.

The Sri Lankan government has sought the international assistance of the United States, Indian and the British Serious Fraud Office (SFO) in order to trace reports of financial abuse by the former government, announced the foreign minister.

Sri Lankan Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera, a politician who was previously close to the former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, told The Telegraph:

“We have asked for help from the authorities in Britain, the US, India and several other countries, as well as the stolen assets recovery unit at the World Bank, as we try to identify assets stashed abroad in offshore accounts, property and business investments”.

“We need the help of foreign governments and agencies and we are very pleased with the assistance we have been receiving. We are on the verge of some major breakthroughs and we are preparing criminal cases right now.”

His comments come, ahead of the Sri Lankan general elections on Monday, where the issue of accountability for massacres committed during the final stages of the island’s armed conflict continues to be a major issue for voters. Sri Lanka has so far refused to allow international investigators from the United Nations access to alleged sites of mass atrocities.

Hugo Swire, the British Foreign Office Minister for Asia, said the UK was “leading a real drive on this across the world and are supporting a number of governments, including Sri Lanka’s, on tackling corruption”.