No NIC: Photo certification a must

The Department of Elections has made it compulsory for voters who do not possess an Identity Card (NIC) to have two photos each certified by the Assistant Elections Commissioner (AEC) of their respective districts for exercising their franchise at the upcoming provincial council election. Earlier, the Divisional Secretaries certified these photos.

A department official said yesterday people could get this done by handing over two photos each to the Grama Seva Niladharis in their respective areas.

At former elections, such voters were required to get their photos certified by the Divisional Secretaries.

“People need not worry about this matter. As in the past, they have to hand over their photos to Grama Seva Niladharis who would get the photos to be certified by the AEC on behalf of the voters,” he said.

The official said the Department found it difficult to obtain the accurate statistics of voters without identity cards when the Divisional Secretaries certified these photos, and this decision was taken as a result.

“We found it difficult to co-ordinate matters when this was handled by the Divisional Secretaries,” he said