Reforms to local Govt. electoral system

Uditha Kumarasinghe and Rajmi Manatunga

KOTTE: The Government has decided to bring in reforms to the local government electoral system to build a closer relationship between the people and their representatives.

"We are drawing up plans to change the present system of local government on the agreement of both the Government and the United National Party.

"Even the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna has identified this as a need of the hour", Local Government and Provincial Councils Minister Janaka Bandara Tennakoon told Parliament yesterday.

Participating in the committee stage of the budget debate, Tennakoon said a large number of people were of the view that the present local government electoral system should be replaced by a system modelled on the old Gamsabha system.

"The positive feature of the Gamsabha system was the close relationship it established between the voter and his representative. Under that system, members of local government bodies were answerable to the people who elected them," he said.

The Parliamentary Select Committee on Electoral Reforms headed by Minister Dinesh Gunawardena has also recommended that the local government electoral system be changed.

There are around 330 local government bodies in the country.