The Commonwealth Secretariat today released the final report of the Commonwealth Observer Group to Sri Lanka’s 2015 Parliamentary Elections.

“Our overall assessment is that these 2015 Parliamentary elections fulfilled the key benchmarks for a democratic election and that the electoral process was on the whole transparent, peaceful and credible”, the Chair of the Commonwealth Observer Group, former President of Malta Dr George Abela said writing in the foreword to the report.

Among the recommendations offered by the Observer Group is a proposal that Sri Lanka take a “zero-tolerance” approach to election violence. The Group also concluded that the Government should reconsider restrictions on campaigning methods as well as consider legislation on campaign finance

Just under 200 incidents of election-related violence were reported in the campaign period, including three deaths, grievous assaults, attacks on political party and candidate offices, and abductions, the Commonwealth observers note.