Centre for Monitoring Election Violence
The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) is a Sri Lankan non-profit coalition, founded in 1997, that independently monitors election-related violence, irregularities, and campaign finance across all national, provincial, and local elections, serving voters, the Election Commission, media, and civil society.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1997
- HeadquartersColombo, Sri Lanka
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What Centre for Monitoring Election Violence does
CMEV is an independent, non-partisan civil society organization founded in 1997 to monitor election-related violence and irregularities in Sri Lanka. It operates as a tripartite coalition of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA, which serves as secretariat), the Free Media Movement (FMM), and Human Rights Documentation Centre INFORM, with three co-convenors providing policy guidance. CMEV's core outputs are election observation reports published in English, Sinhala, and Tamil (including Braille and audio formats) covering all national, provincial, and local government elections in Sri Lanka.
CMEV's product set centers on a Digital Incident Reporting System and Election Monitoring Dashboard for real-time citizen and field-monitor submissions; interactive election violence maps showing district-level incident distribution; a Media Monitoring Initiative that tracks airtime allocation across 10 selected TV channels in three languages against Election Commission guidelines; and the 'Chanda Salli Meetare' campaign expenditure transparency tool launched in 2024 jointly with PAFFREL, CaFFE, and other monitoring organizations. These are supported by a Civic Education Program, a Certificate Training Program for prospective monitors, and an Advocacy Program. The operational model relies on a small core staff (11–50 range) mobilizing 1,500+ trained volunteer observers and field monitors across all 25 electoral districts during election cycles.
CMEV is a non-profit funded primarily through grants from international democratic governance organizations (NDI is the explicitly named funder, supporting activities such as the Northern Provincial Council Election 2013 monitoring). It generates no commercial revenue; all monitoring reports, maps, and the campaign finance tool are provided free of charge to the public, Election Commission of Sri Lanka, media, and civil society stakeholders. The headquarters is in Colombo 05, Sri Lanka, and its geographic scope is solely domestic, focused exclusively on Sri Lankan electoral processes.
Centre for Monitoring Election Violence firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Centre for Monitoring Election Violence
- Legal name
- Centre for Monitoring Election Violence
- Website
- https://cmev.org
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1997
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) is a Sri Lankan non-profit coalition, founded in 1997, that independently monitors election-related violence, irregularities, and campaign finance across all national, provincial, and local elections, serving voters, the Election Commission, media, and civil society.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Centre for Monitoring Election Violence industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Election Monitoring Services
- NAICS
- Justice, Public Order, and Safety Activities (922)
- akta.pro industry
- Electoral Support & Election ObservationBusiness & Public Services/International Organizations & Development/Human Rights, Democracy & GovernancePublic Relations Measurement, Analytics & Monitoring
Keywords
Where Centre for Monitoring Election Violence is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Colombo
- HQ country
- Sri Lanka
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Centre for Monitoring Election Violence business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Grants and Funding: CMEV receives financial support from international democratic governance organizations. NDI (National Democratic Institute) is mentioned as providing financial support for Northern Provincial Council Election monitoring.
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels4 records
Marketing channels9 records
Centre for Monitoring Election Violence product offering
Product offeringCore offering
CMEV independently monitors and reports on election-related violence, irregularities, and malpractice across national, provincial, and local elections in Sri Lanka. It deploys volunteer observers and field monitors to polling and counting stations across all 25 electoral districts, runs a Digital Incident Reporting System for real-time citizen reporting, publishes observation reports and gazettes, and operates the 'Chanda Salli Meetare' campaign finance monitoring tool in coalition with PAFFREL and CaFFE. Its work also encompasses media monitoring across 10 TV channels, civic education, and advocacy for electoral reform.
Product overview
CMEV offers a portfolio of election monitoring products and services focused on Sri Lankan democratic processes. The core offerings include a Digital Incident Reporting System (Election Monitoring Dashboard) for real-time reporting of election violence, a Media Monitoring Initiative tracking TV air time for candidates, and the 'Chanda Salli Meetare' campaign expenditure monitoring tool. Supporting these are Maps visualising the geographic distribution of election violations, a range of Election Monitoring Publications (preliminary reports, final reports, gazettes), a Civic Education Program, and an Advocacy Program. These services collectively form CMEV's election observation ecosystem, covering pre-election, election day, and post-election monitoring across national, provincial, and local government elections since 1997.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Digital Incident Reporting System (Election Monitoring Dashboard) A digital system enabling citizens and field monitors to report election-related incidents of violence and misconduct in real time during elections, accessible via the Election Monitoring Dashboard. Used to aggregate and visualize election monitoring data across Sri Lanka.
- Election Violence Maps Interactive maps showing the geographical distribution of election-related violence, hate speech, and violations across Sri Lanka's districts, covering Presidential 2015, Parliamentary 2020, Provincial Council elections, and other contests, with current and archived maps.
- Chanda Salli Meetare (Campaign Expenditure Monitoring Tool) A campaign expenditure monitoring tool that provides public profiles of presidential candidates with details of their campaign expenditures categorized into media, social media, billboards, public events, and campaign offices, using set cost formulas and supporting citizen reporting of campaign activities. Operated jointly with PAFFREL, CaFFE, and other monitoring organizations.
- Media Monitoring Initiative (Election Media Monitoring) A media monitoring program that systematically tracks air time allocated to parliamentary and presidential candidates on 10 selected TV channels during main evening news bulletins, assessing adherence to Election Commission media guidelines, fairness of air time allocation, and media bias, with attention to inclusion of women and minority candidates.
Quantifiable outcome
- 310 incidents recorded on Parliamentary Election Day 2024 (14 November 2024)
- +2 more outcomes
Companies that use Centre for Monitoring Election Violence
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles4 records
Centre for Monitoring Election Violence technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Feature4 records
Centre for Monitoring Election Violence partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL)coreCollaborative partnership for 'Chanda Salli Meetare' campaign finance transparency tool. PAFFREL Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi advocated for campaign spending limits. Joint certificate training programs.
- Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE)minorPartnered with CMEV on 'Chanda Salli Meetare' initiative. Executive Director Manas Makeen highlighted unprecedented collaboration among monitoring organizations for campaign finance oversight.
- Institute for Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies (IRES)minorIRES Executive Director Manjula Gajanayake collaborated with CMEV on monitoring election law violations and identifying misuse of public property during elections.
- Human Rights Documentation Centre INFORMcoreINFORM is the third member organization of CMEV alongside CPA and FMM. Provides human rights documentation expertise to election monitoring activities.
- Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL)coreCollaborates with CMEV on campaign finance regulation discussions. Led collective campaign finance monitoring tool during 2024 Presidential Election. Executive Director Asoka Obeysekara participated in seminars on campaign finance regulation.
- Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA)coreCPA serves as the secretariat of CMEV and is one of the three founding organizations. Provides organizational support, staff, and administrative infrastructure for CMEV operations. Dr. Paikiasothy Saravanamuttu is Co-Convenor of CMEV and Executive Director of CPA.
- Free Media Movement (FMM)coreOne of three founding organizations of CMEV. Represents media freedom and independent journalism sector in the civil society coalition for election monitoring.
Scale indicators5 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Centre for Monitoring Election Violence competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA): Intergovernmental organization supporting democratic elections and electoral integrity globally; directly comparable mission to CMEV but at intergovernmental scale with member-state funding rather than civil society coalition.
- National Democratic Institute (NDI): Major U.S.-based democracy NGO that has provided financial support to CMEV and deploys international election observation missions worldwide. Comparable in election-monitoring methodology though operates as funder and observer rather than domestic coalition.
- The Carter Center: Long-standing international election observation organization; comparable to CMEV in mission and methodology (long-term observer deployment, independent reporting) but operates globally and with substantially larger resources.
- International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES): Global leader in election assistance and observation; broader portfolio and international footprint but operates in the same election integrity and democracy-support space as CMEV.
- European Union Election Observation Missions: EU's formal election observation missions, frequently deployed to Sri Lanka; comparable to CMEV in election-monitoring methodology, recommendations to Election Commission, and post-election reporting, though backed by EU institutional resources.
Direct peers
- Institute for Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies (IRES): Sri Lankan election monitoring and electoral reform organization collaborating with CMEV on identifying misuse of public property during elections. Directly comparable niche and country footprint.
- Human Rights Documentation Centre INFORM: Sri Lankan human rights documentation organization and one of CMEV's three constituent member bodies (alongside CPA and FMM). Provides human rights expertise to CMEV's election violence monitoring work.
- People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL): Sri Lanka's leading domestic election monitoring organization; a direct peer to CMEV with overlapping volunteer observer networks and joint campaigns such as 'Chanda Salli Meetare'. PAFFREL Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi is a frequent collaborator with CMEV on campaign finance regulation.
- Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL): Anti-corruption chapter operating in Sri Lanka; collaborates with CMEV on campaign finance regulation and led the collective campaign finance monitoring tool during the 2024 Presidential Election. Comparable in coalition-style election-integrity work.
- Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE): Sri Lankan election observation NGO; directly comparable to CMEV in mission, scope (national, provincial, local elections), and deployment of trained observers. CaFFE partnered with CMEV on 'Chanda Salli Meetare'.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Centre for Monitoring Election Violence social profiles
Digital presenceCentre for Monitoring Election Violence financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Centre for Monitoring Election Violence leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles8 records
Centre for Monitoring Election Violence funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
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Centre for Monitoring Election Violence M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
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Frequently asked questions about Centre for Monitoring Election Violence
What does Centre for Monitoring Election Violence do?
CMEV independently monitors and reports on election-related violence, irregularities, and malpractice across national, provincial, and local elections in Sri Lanka. It deploys volunteer observers and field monitors to polling and counting stations across all 25 electoral districts, runs a Digital Incident Reporting System for real-time citizen reporting, publishes observation reports and gazettes, and operates the 'Chanda Salli Meetare' campaign finance monitoring tool in coalition with PAFFREL and CaFFE. Its work also encompasses media monitoring across 10 TV channels, civic education, and advocacy for electoral reform.
Is Centre for Monitoring Election Violence a public or private company?
Centre for Monitoring Election Violence is a private company. It is classified as nonprofit foundation owned and is currently operating.
When was Centre for Monitoring Election Violence founded?
Centre for Monitoring Election Violence was founded in 1997. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Centre for Monitoring Election Violence based?
Centre for Monitoring Election Violence is headquartered in Colombo, Sri Lanka, in the Asia region.
How does Centre for Monitoring Election Violence make money?
One revenue line is on record: grants and Funding.
Who are Centre for Monitoring Election Violence's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are International Institute for Democracy and Electoral Assistance (International IDEA), National Democratic Institute (NDI), The Carter Center, International Foundation for Electoral Systems (IFES) and European Union Election Observation Missions. Direct peers are Institute for Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies (IRES), Human Rights Documentation Centre INFORM, People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL), Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL) and Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE).
Does Centre for Monitoring Election Violence have an API?
No public API is recorded for Centre for Monitoring Election Violence.
What industry is Centre for Monitoring Election Violence in?
Centre for Monitoring Election Violence's product category is Election Monitoring Services. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPADAGAA, Electoral Support & Election Observation, with a secondary code of BPAFADAL, Public Relations Measurement, Analytics & Monitoring. Its NAICS code is 922.