LG Polls boost for democracy in North

With the conclusion of elections on July 23 to more local bodies, the UPFA has so far won 250 of the 299 local bodies for which elections had been held. At the last round of elections, the UPFA won 45 of 75 local bodies. This victory has reinforced the people’s mandate to the UPFA given at Presidential and General Elections. A total number of 875 Members (out of 5,688 candidates) were elected at this poll.

The UPFA received 4,249,497 votes overall and 2,331 members have been elected so far. The UNP, with 2,342,761 votes have 1,021 members while the JVP with just 219,910 votes have only 69 members. Other parties cumulatively have a total of 666,547 votes, with 454 members. The UPFA has received 56.82 per cent of the total valid votes cast so far. Elections to 23 local bodies including Colombo are due to be held before the end of the year.

Some of the areas in the North saw elections for the first time in nearly 30 years following their liberation from terrorism. According to election observers and the District Returning Officers, elections in the North which was the focus of many local and international observers and media were peaceful and ended without any major incidents. Elections were held for 16 Pradeshiya Sabhas and three Urban Councils in the Jaffna district, three Pradeshiya Sabhas in the Kilinochchi district and one Pradeshiya Sabha in the Mullaitivu district. It was significant that all the mainstream political parties (UPFA, UNP and JVP) contested the Northern elections in addition to the TNA. Several independent groups were also in the fray.

The registered number of voters in the Jaffna and Kilinochchi districts is 435557. In a major victory for the process of democratization of the North, the voter turnout in the Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu districts was recorded at 65 percent.

The residents of these areas were voting after more than 20 years. The voter turnout in the Jaffna district was 50 percent according to elections officials.

The de-mining process has further delayed elections to two Pradeshiya Sabhas - Pudukudiyiruppu and Maritimepatru. The Government is planning to hold Provincial Council elections in the North in due course.

In the North, the UPFA secured victory in three Pradeshiya Sabhas, namely Kayts, Velanai and Delft. The JVP could only manage to get 13 of its members elected while the TULF which won two Councils in the Kilinochchi district, got 12 of its members elected. The government ally SLMC also won seven seats. The ITAK won 18 Local Authorities and TULF two.

Police deployed over 25,000 policemen and 500 Special Task Force personnel for election duty to maintain law and order.

Local Government elections for 234 local bodies were held on March 19. The ruling UPFA recorded a landslide Victory at the March election gaining 55.68 percent of the votes. The UPFA swept the polls in several districts gaining control of certain local bodies that had been earlier controlled by the opposition. The government won 19 Local Government bodies that had been controlled by the UNP earlier. The JVP lost even the Tissamaharama Pradeshiya Sabha which they held previously. The JVP suffered a humiliating defeat having failed to win even a single local body at these elections.

Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) General Secretary and Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena issuing a message on the election results of 65 Local Government bodies held on Saturday stated that the entire Sri Lankan community including the Northern and Eastern Provinces had accepted and approved once again the political and socio-economic perspective and programme presented in the Mahinda Chinthana policy by the President and the government.

The message also stated: “There were two objectives the government and the SLFP wanted to realize from the Local Government Elections. The first was to reestablish democracy through the active participation in the Northern and Eastern Provinces following the defeat of terrorism. The second was to achieve political stability as a government as well as a party in each and every political entity.

“We have been able to achieve both these targets overwhelmingly judging by the results of the LG polls held on Saturday as well as several months ago.”