Local Government Elections

EPDP wins uncontested in Mullaitivu District

[February 19, 2006 - 11.00 GMT]

The Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP), which is a constituent of the ruling United Peoples Front (UPFA) coalition, has won control of the Pudukudirippu Pradeshiya Sabha uncontested, with the rejection of candidates' lists of LTTE supported political organizations.

The Assistant Commissioner of Elections of Vavuniya has informed the General Secretary of the EPDP, Minister Douglas Devanayagam, to forward the name of the new Chairman of the Pudukudirippu PS within seven days.

The EPDP is among several Tamil political parties and organizations that reject the claim of the LTTE to be the sole representative of the Tamils of Sri Lanka.

Mullaitivi District where the EPDP has now gained control of one local body is considered a stronghold and heartland of LTTE operations.

The LTTE backed Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK), a constituent of the Tamil National Alliance which accepts the LTTE as the sole representative of the Tamils, was elected uncontested to the Verugal Pradeshiya Sabha, with no other parties or organizations filing nomination papers for this PS in the Trincomalee District. 

The EPDP is among many organizations that have asked the Commissioner General of Elections to make arrangements for a free and fair election campaign in the North and East, especially allowing candidates opposing the LTTE from campaigning and the preventing the threatening and intimidation of voters by the LTTE.
 
Nominations to 130 local governing bodies with 4,255 seats closed at noon last Friday 17^th.  

In a major electoral upset, the United National Party (UNP), the largest Opposition party at present, which has its main base in urban areas, and has controlled the premier local authority for nearly over 40 years, found its list of candidates to the Colombo Municipal Council rejected due to a procedural fault  that of including a person under 18 years of age  in its list of nominees for control of the Council.

This leaves the list of the UPFA, led by Mr. Vasudeva Nanayakkara, a long time leftist and twice Member of Parliament, as the leading contender to be Colombo's mayor, with UPFA's main rival being the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), which supports the UPFA government from the opposition benches in Parliament.

Both Mr. Nanayakkara's New Democratic Front and the JVP supported the candidature of Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa at the presidential election of November 17, 2005 which saw Mr. Rajapaksa beat the UNP leader and former Prime Minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe, to be elected Executive President of Sri Lanka.

The UNP has already protested to the Commissioner General of Elections against the rejection of its list of nominees. In the event of the Commissioner General upholding the decision it is looking at the possibility of taking the matter to the Court of Appeal.

In a worse case scenario, the UNP leader has said the party would endorse one of the many lists of independent groups in the field as being that of the UNP. This would require those elected from that list to resign en bloc after elections are announced, and give all their seats to UNP nominees, which move is already being criticized as a highly undemocratic move to fool the electorate, and one which bound to bring in large scale bribery and corruption into the election.

Elections to all 330 local bodies are due to be held on March 30, 2006. 

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Last Updated Date: February 19, 2006 - 11.00 GMT