Sri Lankan police arrested a Tamil youth in Jaffna this morning after he tore up his ballot paper in a reported act of protest against the presidential elections.
The 19-year-old, who was voting for the first time, entered the polling station at the Nayanmarkaddu Maheswari Vidyalayam school and had his identity confirmed by officials before receiving his ballot paper.
He then proceeded to tear it up in front of officials, in an apparent act of protest. Sri Lankan police arrested the youth and held him in custody.
The Tamil National People's Front (TNPF) have called on the Tamil people to boycott the Sri Lankan presidential elections, whilst a range of other Tamil political parties and organisations have backed P Ariyanenthiran - a 'common' Tamil candidate who is running not to win the election, but to "send a message" to the international community.
