New Jaffna Mayor appointed

[TamilNet, Friday, 12 June 1998, 23:59 GMT]
Mr. Sivapalan, Tamil United Liberation Front's (TULF) legal advisor has been appointed as the new mayor of Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC). Sri Lankan Commissioner of Elections confirmed his appointment yesterday.

Sivapalan's appointment comes following the assassination of former JMC Mayor Mrs. Sarojini Yogeswaran on May 17 in Jaffna. The Police has blamed the Liberation Tigers for the killing.

Meanwhile, the PLOTE council members on the JMC are planning to bring a motion of no confidence against the TULF which currently leads the council with a narrow margin, said sources in Jaffna.

The PLOTE is reported to have alleged that the Jaffna Municipal Council has been generally inactive.

Last week, the Deputy Mayor of Jaffna Mr. Thambapillai Thirunavukkarasu resigned his position.

He told reporters at a press conference before he submitted his resignation, that Jaffna was under military rule and not civil administration. He also said that the JMC administration was set up on the basis of the TULF's 'wrong arrangements'.

The TULF has 9 members in the JMC out of a total of 23 members. The other parties on the council are DPLF (06), EPDP (06), and EPRLF (02).

The council seats were contested at bitterly fought elections held in January this year.

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