Elections to local authorities before Mar.31: Minister

Elections to the local authorities would be held before March 31, Subject Minister Faiszer Musthapha said today.

He told a media briefing held at the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) headquarters that the elections to provincial councils did not come under his purview.

“Elections to the local authorities will be held soon after I receive the delimitation-committee report on December 27 or in any case before December 31. I will issue the gazette notification on the receipt of the report,” minister said. "Although people blame me for the delay, I need to stress that I have no intention whatsoever of delaying these elections."

He pointed out that there were several issues that crop up when carrying out the functions of local bodies in the absence of public representation.

"I will try my best to minimize the contentious issues because I too am suffering from the lapses of the previous government. I would have been only too glad to hold the elections earlier if the previous delimitation reports were correct,” the minister said.

He said pointing fingers was easy but understanding the problems involved was difficult.

“Working as a National Government was not easy. Neither did the UNP nor the SLFP receive a mandate to rule the country. Some say that the SLFP ministers should leave the party,” the minister said.

“President Maithripala Sirisena was not selected to the presidential candidacy out of affection but because he was the only one who was able to defeat former president Mahinda Rajapaksa and the only one capable of taking up the challenge,” the Minister said. (Chaturanga Pradeep)