Election observers representing India, Pakistan, Nepal, Bhutan and Afghanistan have arrived in the country to monitor the forthcoming Provincial Council polls, the Elections Secretariat said.

The foreign observers had arrived in the country last night to monitor the election in the Northern, North Western and Central provinces on September 21.

The foreign observers are expected to meet Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya today (14) at the Elections Secretariat for discussions.

They are also scheduled to meet with representatives from the political parties contesting the country’s first ever election in the Northern Province and local monitoring groups.

The Indian team is led by former Chief Election Commissioner N Goplalaswamy and includes Chief Electoral Officers of Himachal Pradesh Narinder Chauhan and Sunil Kumar Gupta of West Bengal, according to Indian media.

In addition to the Indian observers, there are five observers from Pakistan, three from Bangladesh, two each from Nepal and Maldives and one each from Afghanistan and Bhutan. They will be in Sri Lanka for the next ten days.

The People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) has also invited a group of foreign observers, who had arrived in the country last night.

PAFFREL Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchci stated that the observers will take part in training sessions today and tomorrow.