Elections to 42 local bodies in NE postponed

[TamilNet, Saturday, 23 September 2006, 11:48 GMT]
The elections to forty two local bodies in the NorthEast fixed for September 30 this year have been put off for June next year due to the unsettled situation in the province, Department of Elections in Colombo said.

Of the 42 local authorities, two are Municipal Councils (Jaffna and Batticaloa), four Urban Councils (Vavuniya, Chavakachcheri, Point Pedro and Valvettithurai) and thirty six Pradesiya Sabahs, the sources said.

Elections to some local authorities in Trincomalee district and Amparai district in the northeast province were held in the early part of this year along with other local authorities in the south. Elections to 42 local authorities in northeast were put off for September 30 due to unstable ground situation.

Due to the fresh fight between the Sri Lankan armed forces and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam large number of civilians have been displaced from their own villages and sought refugee elsewhere in the NorthEast and in the southern Indian state, Tamil Nadu.