Election for eastern local councils

The government has had discussions with the election chief regarding the elections for the 9 local councils bodies of the Batticaloa district, said the Local Govt. and Provincial Council Minister, Janaka Bandara Tennakoon.

With the liberation of the people from the LTTE terrorists, normalcy has returned to the eastern province. Law and order has already been established and now the people should be given the right to use their franchise to elect the members to the local government bodies to enable them to take forward the rehabilitation and development works in the east. 90% of the people in the eastern province have returned to their permanent places and there are some families still living in the temporary shelters. These families will also be provided an opportunity to cast their votes. Arrangements will be made at locations close to the camps occupied by the displaced people to cast their votes.

The elections commissioner will announce the date of the local polls and submitting nominations, within the next few weeks, he said further.