Special Act to call fresh nominations for NE local polls

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 21 May 2003, 18:58 GMT]
The United National Front government Wednesday tabled a Local Government Elections Special Provision Act bill in parliament empowering the Commissioner General of Elections to call for fresh nominations to the fifty-three local government institutions in the Tamil dominated Northeast province.

The Minister of Local Government, Provincial Councils and Home Affairs Mr.Alick Aluwihare tabled the draft bill, sources said.

Nominations were called last year to the fifty-three (three municipal councils, six urban councils and forty-four Pradesya Sabahs) local government institutions in the Northeast province along with other local authorities in the other parts of the country. However, at the request of the TNA the government postponed the elections for northeast local government institutions for June 25 this year. The government assured TNA at that time that elections to northeast local bodies would be held after calling fresh nominations.

Local government elections were held to local authorities in others parts of the country, excluding Tamil speaking local authorities in the northeast last year, sources said.

Now the UNF government has brought a special provision act to the Local Government Election Ordinance empowering the Commissioner General of Elections to call fresh nominations for the fifty three local government institutions in the northeast province, parliamentary sources said.

When the special provisions act was tabled in parliament Wednesday the leader of the house and minister Mr.W.J.M.Lokkubandara replied to a question that the government has no intention of postponing the northeast local government polls anymore, the sources said.

The parliament thereafter adjourned its sitting for June 3. The debate on the Special Provisions Act of the Local Government Election Ordinance would be taken up on that date, the sources said.