Presidential proclamation for Northern PC polls
Dhanushka Godakumbura and Mahinda Aluthgedara
President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday issued a proclamation calling
for the holding of elections to the Northern Provincial Council.
Commissioner General of Elections Mahinda
Deshapriya was officially
notified about this yesterday, said Presidential Spokesman and senior
journalist Mohan Samaranayake.
Provincial Councils were established through the Provincial Councils
Act No 42 of 1987 under the 13th Amendment to the Constitution and the
Northern Provincial Council was first established amalgamating it with
the Eastern Provincial Council.
An election has not been held to the Northern Provincial Council
since the Northern and Eastern Provincial Council was dissolved in 1990.
Thereafter, the Northern and Eastern Provincial Councils were
de-linked on October 16, 2006 following a Supreme Court order.
Following the liberation of the Eastern Province under the
Humanitarian Operation, elections to the Eastern Provincial Council were
held on May 10, 2008. Till then all Departments, Secretaries and State
Institutions functioned under the direct supervision of the Provincial
Governor.
The forthcoming election will go down in history as the first one
held to elect representatives to a separate Northern Provincial Council.
Government sources said arrangements will be made to conduct the
Northern Provincial Council in September as planned and it has no need
or intention to postpone it. Meanwhile, the government is planning to
hold the Wayamba and Central Provincial Council elections concurrently
with the Northern Provincial Council elections.
Meanwhile, the Central Province and Wayamba Provincial Councils were
also dissolved from midnight yesterday. Our Kandy correspondent Indika
Polkotuwa said Governor Tikiri Kobbekaduwa signed the document in
respect of the dissolution of the Council.
The decision was taken to dissolve the Council on the request of
Central Province Chief Minister Sarath Ekanayake.
The Central Province Provincial Council consists of 58 members, 31
from Kandy, 17 from Nuwara Eliya and 10 from Matale. President Mahinda
Rajapaksa pledged to hold the Northern Provincial Council election in
September when he addressed a meeting at Kilinochchi when he opened the
renovated Iranamadu Air Strip and the Jaffna-Kandy A9 road recently.
The President pointed out that the people should understand how to
benefit from a government, Provincial Council and Pradeshiya Sabha by
obtaining services from then.
He said today the North and South have been linked and his objective
was to ensure to the people of the North the same rights and benefits
enjoyed by the people in the South.
He also requested people to totally reject at the forthcoming
elections people who belittled the governments development process by
spreading communalism for achieving political gain.
The massive development process launched by the government after
ending the war and bringing peace to the North and the granting of
democracy and voting rights to the people. There has come in for praise
by many international analysts. Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Elections
Secretariat said they would issue a gazette notification calling
nominations within a week after the President issued the proclamation
dissolving the Provincial Councils. Thereafter, nominations would be
entertained within 14 and 21 days. Elections will be held within 5 to 8
weeks after the closing date of nominations. |