Authorities in Sri Lanka should ensure that voters have safe and secure access to the polls to vote in presidential elections on January 8, 2015, and that state media is not misused in favor of the incumbent, Human Rights Watch said today. Local monitoring groups have reported numerous acts of election-related violence and intimidation during the month-long campaign that closed on January 5.

The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) documented 237 major incidents and 183 minor incidents during the campaign. Monitors also reported that there may have been as many as 22 attacks involving firearms. The groups also documented inappropriate use of state media by the ruling.

“Sri Lankan authorities need to take all possible steps to ensure voters, candidates, and monitors are not attacked, threatened, or intimidated,” said Brad Adams, Asia director. “The attacks and intimidation that marred the campaign can’t be allowed to continue on election day and during the counting process.”

“Sri Lanka has a long history of attackers getting away with election-related violence, and a few arrests on the eve of election day, while a positive step, do not address these longstanding concerns,” Adams said.

There are also serious concerns about violence after the elections, regardless of the outcome. The Election Commission and other relevant authorities need to ensure that police and other security forces act in an impartial manner and respect the human rights of the population. This is especially true in the ethnic-Tamil dominated north and east of the country and other minority areas.

“The role played by the security forces during and after election day could send an important message about the future of human rights in Sri Lanka,” Adams said. “Meeting the basic requirements of a free and fair election is an important first step toward addressing the country’s persistent rights problems, but many challenges will remain for whoever is elected president.”