Delimitation of wards completed

Report to be published next week :

by Ranil Wijayapala

Political parties will get an opportunity to make observations on the demarcation of wards with regard to respective local authority areas once the gazette on the wards system is published within the next few days, Secretary Ministry of Provincial Councils and Local Government H.T. Kamal Pathmasiri told the Sunday Observer.

He said, President Maithripala Sirisena has already signed the gazette notification on the demarcation of wards in each local authority area, according to the National Delimitation Committee report, which is to be published next week. Some political parties have expressed their dissatisfaction over the way the National Delimitation Committee has demarcated the wards.

The Government is planning to hold the elections for the Local Government Authorities on a single day in March next year.

The demarcation of wards in each local authority area is mandatory to hold the Local Government election under the amended Local Authorities Elections Act in 2012 and the National Delimitation Committee on Local Governments appointed in 2013 worked on the demarcation wards in each local government body.

The UNP Working Committee last week decided not to hold the election under the new system while the SLFP Central Committee decided to hold the election under the new system.

However, the Ministry Secretary Kamal Pathmasiri said, the Cabinet Sub Committee appointed to look into the issue will meet on September 29 to discuss the matter further. The Ministerial Sub Committee comprises Ministers Kabir Hashim, Susil Premajayantha, Duminda Dissanayaka and Faiszer Mustapha.

Pathmasisi added, there should be an amendment to the Local Authorities Act if the forthcoming local government elections are to be held under the new system which offers a combination of both proportionate representation and the first past post system.

“The Legal Draftsman’s Department is currently working on these amendments”, he said. Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya said there was no communiqué from the government so far about the conduct of local polls, due next year.