Over 6000 candidates are in the running for 225 parliamentary seats in snap polls in Sri Lanka to be held on April 2. Last month, President Kumaratunga had dissolved the parliament, which was controlled by her political rival, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and had begun its term only in December 2001. The president and prime minister had been at loggerheads over the handling of the fragile peace process with the Tamil Tigers. Meanwhile, critics have pointed out that snap polls have badly obscured all other critical issues facing the nation. The Sunday Times argues that the nations defense continue to drift at this time.
Meanwhile, a number of groups have accused the Tigers of intensifying recruiting during this period. A delegation of the Council of Muslims of Sri Lanka last week accused the LTTE of extending their area of control to cleared areas after the signing of the MoU with the Government. The Human Resource Commission has claimed that the Tigers continue to abduct children despite having signed the ceasefire with the government. The new head of the Sri Lanka Monitoring Mission commented, "the LTTE would be held more accountable for the recruitment of child soldiers". The Tigers are not fielding candidates themselves; instead they are fielding candidates through a moderate Tamil party. While poll monitors have expressed fears that the campaign could be bloody, Sri Lanka's election chief Dayananda Dissanayake said he could not predict if there would be violence during the campaign. All parties in the troubled island - the Tigers, the main political parties, minority groups - as well as Sri Lanka Monitor Mission continue to watch the election process and its effect on a fragile peace.