Young adults shun polls; drop in registration

Lack of interest due to claims that politicians were not serving their interests, says Mahinda Deshapriya

Disillusionment among young eligible voters has led to a lower registration of electors, Elections Commission Chairman Mahinda Deshapriya said yesterday.

“There has been a drop of some 18,000 persons from the Electoral Register for 2017 in the Greater Colombo area,” he told the Sunday Times. Most voters, Mr Deshapriya said, showed lack of interest in taking part in the electoral process claiming that politicians were not serving their interests. There have also been instances where inaction of Grama Niladharis, who collect data for Electoral Registers, has contributed to the situation.

His remarks came as plans are under way for the conduct of local council and provincial council elections early next year.

According to Chairman Deshapriya, the drop in voter registration centred on those in the age group of 30 to 35 and covered areas like Colombo, Ko t t e, Dehiwala- Mount Lavinia, Moratuwa, Kolonnawa, Maharagama and Kaduwela.

Another notable reason, the head of the Elections Commission said, was the non registration by would-be voters who live in flats or apartments.

Grama Niladharis who deliver registration forms have had no direct access to those premises, he said.

“Electoral registration forms are handed over to the security points at these apartments and we are not sure if they are delivered to the residents,” Mr. Deshapriya added.

Slum areas and the plantation sector have also seen a drop in registration. “The enumeration officers who have to hand over the forms, the Gram Niladhari, often skip these areas and hence the people do not get registered,” he said.

Mr. Deshapriya said there was also a segment of persons who were only interested in getting their names on the electoral register till they got their children admitted to schools and after that they did not bother to re-register as they had a vote in their home towns,” he said.

He urged eligible voters to ensure that their names appeared on the 2017 electoral list. They have time till September 6 to appeal to have their names included in the register, he said.