Arrangements finalised for North LG polls

by P. Krishnaswamy

All arrangements to hold the first post-conflict local government polls to the Jaffna Municipal Council and the Vavuniya Urban Council have been finalised.

Commissioner of Elections, Dayananda Dissanayake, held a meeting last Friday at the Rajagiriya Elections Office with Jaffna GA K. Ganesh, the two Returning Officers and other senior elections officials on security arrangements, transport facilities to voters in IDP camps, changes that may be necessary with regard to locations of polling centres and other relevant matters, well-informed sources said.

The administration of the Vavuniya UC was in the hands of PLOTE, led by Dharmalingam Sidharthan until it was dissolved in 1999 due to the security situation. Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF) controlled the administration of the Jaffna MC with 23 members until 2002. Although nominations were called and dates fixed for elections to the two local government bodies on three occasions in the subsequent years, the elections were postponed due to security threats.

During TULF administration of the Jaffna MC its first mayor Sarojini Yogeswara was assassinated by the LTTE in 1998 and her successor Sivapalan was also assassinated, TULF sources said.

Six political parties including Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchy (ITAK), SLMC, UNP and UPFA, and three independent groups are contesting the Vavuniya UC which has an electorate of 24,826 voters, with no IDPs.

The Jaffna MC has 100,417 registered voters who include 6,204 displaced voters now living in welfare centres in Puttalam, Anuradhapura, Kalutara, Gampaha and Colombo. Four political parties - ITAK, SLMC, DPLF (PLOTE), UNP and UPFA and three independent groups are contesting the MC poll, according to the Assistant Commissioners of Elections(ACEs).

Special polling centres for the displaced voters will be set up in close proximity to their welfare centres and polls will be conducted by the relevant elections officers, according to the ACEs. Polling Cards to the voters will be distributed next Tuesday, they said.