New date set for PC polls

[TamilNet, Thursday, 11 March 1999, 07:48 GMT]
Sri Lanka's commissioner of Elections announced this morning that the date for polls to the five provincial councils, Western, Sabaragamuwa, Central, Northcentral and Uva provinces, has been postponed to April 6. The Supreme Court directed him on March 9 to postpone the elections, which were earlier fixed for April 1 and announce in two days a new date not later than April 27.

The Sinhala and Tamil New Year are in mid April and the Sinhalese generally wait for a week or so to start business again on an auspicious day and hour determined by astrologers.

This would have made any date after the second or the third week of April inconvenient for the Sinhala Buddhist voter and hence April 6, a Tuesday, had to be fixed as the new date said a political analyst in Colombo.

The Commissioner announced the new date after holding discussions with the representatives of the PA, UNP, JVP, CWC, New Left Front, Muslim United Liberated Front, Boomiputhra Party and the Sri Lanka Progressive Front and independent groups.

The Boomiputhra Party has, however, told the elections Commissioner that they were in strongly in favour of holding elections on the 1st of April.

They have told that they would challenge the decision taken by the elections commissioner in court.

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