Sri Lankan Church urges people to get involved in elections

(February 16, 2010) The Catholic Church in Sri Lanka is urging the faithful to get involved in general elections, scheduled for April 8, the first since the 26-year-old civil war ended. The Church will be mobilizing Catholics across the country to encourage them to “take part in their democratic right to vote,” said Caritas Sri Lanka’s national director Father George Sigamoney. Bishops Rayappu Joseph of Mannar, Norbert Andradi of Anuradhapura and Harold Anthony of Kurunegala along with Caritas Sri Lanka personnel have already held discussions with two main election monitoring bodies on Feb. 10 to make sure there is a clear understanding of the election process. They are also ensuring that internally displaced people living in camps will be able to exercise their franchise. In last month’s presidential election poll, observers estimated that only about 7,000 displaced people went to the polls even though there were 19,171 registered voters living in camps and 26,565 others living elsewhere. The national voting turnout was 74.6 percent. Catholics will be educated on the need to cast their vote at the parish level by their parish priests, Father Sigamoney explained. Caritas Sri Lanka is preparing instructions to be circulated among parishes. Bishop Joseph said experiences during the civil war, that ended last May, had instilled in people a fear of voting. The Church is also gearing up to conduct interreligious prayer services for peaceful voting, Father Sigamoney stated.