Just over two months ago, the Tamils went to the polls for Sri Lanka’s Northern Provincial Council elections with defiance, yet with a cautious sense of festivity. Military harassment of voters and party candidates had been thorough and brutally innovative throughout the campaigning; in addition to the typical battering of election monitors, cash-for-votes and widespread intimidation, government supporters had even printed a fake newspaper.

Sri Lankans in the north vote on Saturday in provincial elections for the first time in 25 years. During the country's long civil war, the region served as the base for separatist rebels belonging to the Tamil Tigers.