Colombo to postpone local elections in North

[TamilNet, Sunday, 20 February 2011, 03:26 GMT]
Sri Lanka Government has decided to postpone elections to 75 local authorities that were scheduled for March 17 until the Court of Appeal decides on the 60 writ applications, many filed by the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) against the rejection of its nomination lists in the districts of Jaffna, Killinochchi and Mullaithivu. The Court of Appeal last week put off the inquiry and order on the Writ Applications filed by the ruling UPFA challenging the rejection of nomination lists submitted for three Urban Councils and sixteen Predesiya Sabas in the Northern Province for February 28.

The Jaffna District Assistant Elections Commissioner had rejected the UPFA nomination lists as he determined that the rejected applications were not filed according to Election Ordinance.

Nomination lists of the main opposition United National Party (UNP) and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) were also rejected in the southern districts by the respective Returning Officers.

When some of the writ applications against the rejection of nomination lists of the UPFA in the south were taken up for inquiry Friday, the Deputy Solicitor General Shavindra Fernando submitted to the Court of Appeal that the Commissioner of Elections had given an undertaking to the Attorney General that he would not take any further steps till the inquiry is concluded in such applications.

Hence the postal voting would not be held as scheduled for March 8 and 9 for such local authorities, election department sources said.