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Local polls: over 26,000 vie for 4,394 places

The forthcoming Local Government polls for local bodies in 23 Districts other than Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu will be contested by 26,312 candidates from 28 political parties and 245 independent groups, an Elections Department press release stated yesterday.

Polls for 23 districts will be conducted on March 20. Elections for seven local bodies in Kilinochchi and Mullaitivu are to be held on March 25. Details of these two electoral districts will be released by the Department later.

The total number of 4,394 candidates will be eligible for places in the 311 local bodies in 23 districts. A significant feature is the participation of youth, a 40 percent mandatory requirement. Some 10,512 youth are among the 26,312 candidates.

Another salient characteristic was the higher number of rejected nominations lists. A total of 148 nominations lists - almost 10 per cent - submitted by political parties and independent groups have been rejected by the Department. Among them are UNP- 13, PA-7, EPDP-6, SLMC-5, JVP- 2, NLF-4, Liberal Party and SU three each. Eighty two of the rejected lists have been submitted by registered political parties, while 66 lists have been from independent groups.

Elections officials attributed this to signing errors and other shortcomings in the nomination lists such as an insufficient number of youth candidates.

The EPDP's was the only list which was accepted by the Department for the Allaidivembu Pradeshiya Sabha in the Ampara District. In the Batticaloa District, only the Independent Groups of Abdul Nassar for the Eravur Pradeshiya Sabha and P. Alagadurai for the Porathivu Pradeshiya Sabha have been declared valid, the release said. Therefore, members for those local bodies will be selected only from those lists, Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake said.

There will be 10 political parties and three Independent groups contesting the Colombo Municipal Council while the Dehiwela-Mt. Lavinia Municipal Council will be contested by five Political Parties and Sri Jayawardhanapura-Kotte MC will be contested by four political parties. No Independent groups will contest the last two bodies.

Six political parties and two Independent groups will contest the Kandy Municipal Council, while five parties and two Independent groups will contest for Galle. Matale MC will have only five Political Parties with no Independent group. The Negombo Municipality will be contested by four Political Parties and one Independent group while Nuwara Eliya MC will have four political parties and one Independent group.

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