Sri Lanka Eastern Provincial Council elections, 2008
Encyclopedia
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
’s Eastern Provincial Council. Following the successful completion of local government elections in the Batticaloa District
Batticaloa District
Batticaloa district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The headquarters is located in Batticaloa town...
, Sri Lanka’s Elections Department announced on March 14 that the elections for the Eastern Provincial Council were to be held in May, after a lapse of 20 years. It was only the second time direct elections are held to select members for the council, and first time for the Eastern Provincial Council alone, after it was separated from the North-Eastern Provincial Council in 2006.
Nominations for contesting in the elections were accepted from March 27 to April 3, and a total of 1342 candidates from 18 political parties and 56 independent groups contested the elections where over 980,000 people were eligible to vote. Both of Sri Lanka’s major political parties, the opposition United National Party
United National Party
The United National Party, often referred to as the UNP ), , is a political party in Sri Lanka. It currently is the main opposition party in Sri Lanka and is headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe...
and the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance
United People's Freedom Alliance
The United People's Freedom Alliance is a political alliance in Sri Lanka. The current leader of the United People's Freedom Alliance is Mahinda Rajapaksa and Susil Premajayantha is the general secretary of UPFA.The alliance was formed by:...
took part in the election in coalitions with a number of other parties, but under their own names.
According to the official results released by the Elections Department, the ruling UPFA were victorious in the election, winning 20 seats, while the opposition UNP won 15 seats. Two smaller parties, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
The Janathā Vimukthi Peramuṇa is a Marxist-Leninist, Communist political party in Sri Lanka. The party was involved in two armed uprisings against the ruling governments in 1971 and 1987-89...
(JVP) and the Tamizh Democratic National Alliance also won 1 seat each.
Background
The Provincial Council system was first set up in Sri Lanka following the signing of the Indo-Sri Lanka AccordIndo-Sri Lanka Accord
The Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was an accord signed in Colombo on July 29, 1987, between Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J.R. Jayewardene. The accord was expected to resolve the ongoing Sri Lankan civil war...
in 1987. Although Sri Lanka has 9 provinces
Provinces of Sri Lanka
In Sri Lanka, provinces are the first level administrative division. They were first established by the British rulers of Ceylon in 1833. Over the next century most of the administrative functions were transferred to the districts, the second level administrative division. By the middle of the...
, as part of the agreement the Northern and Eastern provinces were merged into a single North Eastern Province
North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka
The North Eastern Province was one of the provinces of Sri Lanka. The province was created in September 1988 by merging the Northern and Eastern provinces. This merger was declared illegal by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in 2006. The province was formally demerged into the Northern and Eastern...
, and a joint North-Eastern Provincial Council formed. This was done following demands of Tamil political parties, who consider the north and east of Sri Lanka as their "traditional homeland", and wanted to administer the area as a single entity, against the protests of some members of the Sinhalese and Muslim communities.
The first elections were held for the North Eastern Provincial council on November 19, 1988. The Tamil nationalist parties Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front
Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front
The Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front is a Sri Lankan political party and a former militant separatist group.-Militant separatists:The EPRLF was formed in 1980 by K...
(EPRLF) and Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front
Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front
The Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front is a former Indian backed Tamil militant group in Sri Lanka. It was formed in 1987 as an amalgamation of splinter groups from other militant groups...
(ENDLF) won 35 and 12 seats respectively, while the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress is a political party in Sri Lanka. The party was formed at a meeting held at Kattankudy in 1981 by a small study group of local Eastern Province political leaders....
(SLMC) won 17 seats and the ruling United National Party
United National Party
The United National Party, often referred to as the UNP ), , is a political party in Sri Lanka. It currently is the main opposition party in Sri Lanka and is headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe...
won one seat. Varatharaja Perumal was appointed Chief Minister by the victorious EPRLF, who also announced that they would form a ruling coalition with the ENDLF. However as and relations soured with India, and renewed fighting broke out between the government and the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam
The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was a separatist militant organization formerly based in northern Sri Lanka. Founded in May 1976 by Vellupillai Prabhakaran, it waged a violent secessionist and nationalist campaign to create an independent state in the north and east of Sri Lanka for Tamil...
organization (the Tamil Tigers), the North-Eastern Provincial Council was dissolved in 1990 and it’s administration taken over by the government. The area was ruled by the government since then, with parts of it under the control of the Tamil Tigers. While fresh elections were held for the other 7 provincial councils in 1993, and subsequently every five years later, no elections were held for the North Eastern due to the situation on the ground.
Throughout the 1990s, control over parts of the province changed hands between the government and LTTE. When the ceasefire agreement was signed in 2002, parts of all 3 districts composing the Eastern Province were under the control of the LTTE. As the ceasefire broke down in mid-2006, the government launched a major military offensive to clear the Eastern Province of the LTTE. The Sri Lankan military fully achieving this objective in July 2007, and plans were immediately drawn up to hold local elections for the area. Elections were however delayed due to the unstable situation on the ground, as it was the first time in 14 years that some parts of the province came under the control of the government.
In the meantime, in a landmark decision the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
Supreme Court of Sri Lanka
The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka is the highest court of the nation of Sri Lanka. The Supreme Court is the highest and final judicial instance of record and is empowered to exercise its powers, subject to the provisions of the Constitution. The Court has ultimate appellate jurisdiction in...
ruled on October 16, 2006 that since other conditions set the merger were not satisfied, the merger of the two provinces was "null and void without having any legal effect", thereby separating the administrative functions of the two provinces.
As a precursor to the Provincial Council elections, the government first held elections to local government bodies in the Batticaloa district on March 10, with the TamilEela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal
TamilEela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal
Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal , previously known as the "Karuna Group", is a political party in Sri Lanka. It was formed by Karuna Amman, a former leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, after he defected from the organization in 2004...
(TMVP) winning 8 of the 9 bodies up for grabs. (see official results)
Details
The Eastern Province contains 15% of the landmass of Sri Lanka, and has a population of approximately 1.5 million people, or 7.8% of the country's population. Members for provincial councils are directly elected for 5-year terms. The leader of the council majority serves as the province's Chief Minister, alongside a board of ministers. A provincial governor is appointed by the President of Sri LankaPresident of Sri Lanka
The President of Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the elected head of state and the head of government. The President is a dominant political figure in Sri Lanka. The office was created in 1978 but has grown so powerful there have been calls to restrict or even eliminate its power...
.
Voting to select members for the provincial councils took place between 7:00am and 4:00pm Sri Lankan time, at 1070 polling stations throughout the Eastern Province. A total of 37 members were to be elected to the Provincial Council, 14 from the Ampara District
Ampara District
Ampara district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The headquarters is located in Ampara town...
, 11 from the Batticaloa District
Batticaloa District
Batticaloa district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The headquarters is located in Batticaloa town...
and 10 from the Trincomalee District
Trincomalee District
Trincomalee district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka...
, with the overall winner gaining two additional "bonus" members. 79 counting centers were set up to tally the votes.
Contesting political parties
The opposition United National PartyUnited National Party
The United National Party, often referred to as the UNP ), , is a political party in Sri Lanka. It currently is the main opposition party in Sri Lanka and is headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe...
(UNP) boycotted the Batticaloa local government elections in March claiming the existence of the armed TMVP cadres would prevent the holding of free and fair elections. This move was however criticized by some analysts, and the UNP also faced pressure from within the party to contest the Provincial Council Elections. Subsequently the UNP announced on March 25 that they would be contesting the election.
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress is a political party in Sri Lanka. The party was formed at a meeting held at Kattankudy in 1981 by a small study group of local Eastern Province political leaders....
, the largest Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
Party in the country, initially attempted to contest the elections as part of a larger coalition of Muslim parties. However discussions regarding this fell through, mainly because the parties could not agree on a symbol to contest under, with the SLMC insisting the alliance should use the “tree” symbol, a proposal the other parties were opposed to. On April 2, the SLMC announced they would contest the elections with the UNP, under the United National Party banner and the “elephant” symbol.
In a surprise move, SLMC leader and Member of Parliament
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Rauff Hakeem
Rauff Hakeem
Abdul Rauff Hibathul Hakeem , MP is a Sri Lankan politician. He is the National leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, a Member of Parliament and Cabinet Minister of Justice in Sri Lanka. He was educated at the prestigious Royal College Colombo.He is the Holder of LLB & Master of Law -...
, along with 2 other SLMC MPs, Party Chairman Basheer Segudawood and General Secretary Hasen Ali also resigned from their seats in the national parliament
Parliament of Sri Lanka
The Parliament of Sri Lanka is the 225-member unicameral legislature of Sri Lanka. The members of Parliament are elected by proportional representation for six-year terms, with universal suffrage. Parliament reserves the power to make all laws...
on April 2, and announced they would be contesting in the Provincial Council Elections. At the same time, another senior member of the SLMC, M.L.A.M. Hisbullah crossed over to the government.
After discussions, the TMVP and the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance
United People's Freedom Alliance
The United People's Freedom Alliance is a political alliance in Sri Lanka. The current leader of the United People's Freedom Alliance is Mahinda Rajapaksa and Susil Premajayantha is the general secretary of UPFA.The alliance was formed by:...
(UPFA) also announced on March 30 that they will jointly contest the polls under the UPFA’s “betel leaf” symbol. After some arguments between the leading Muslim candidate M.L.A.M. Hisbullah, and the leading Tamil candidate and leader of the TMVP Pillayan as to who will be appointed Chief Minister if the UPFA won the election, the ruling party decided that which ever community won the most votes would be given the Chief Ministerial post.
The largest Tamil political party Tamil National Alliance totally boycotting these polls. United National party (UNP) and Tamil National Alliance groups claim unfair elections took place. TNA claimed it wasn't safe for them to operate in the east because the TMVP group was armed. TMVP threatened TNA MP's and also captured alive family members of TNA MP prior to the elections. Human rights groups claim that TMVP used violence before the election and therefore the elections were "tainted". An independent candidate also claimed that people voted out of fear for army backed TMVP.
Parties contesting in all 3 districts
| Political Party | Symbol | Batticaloa Batticaloa District Batticaloa district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The headquarters is located in Batticaloa town... |
Ampara Ampara District Ampara district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The headquarters is located in Ampara town... |
Trincomalee Trincomalee District Trincomalee district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United People's Freedom Alliance United People's Freedom Alliance The United People's Freedom Alliance is a political alliance in Sri Lanka. The current leader of the United People's Freedom Alliance is Mahinda Rajapaksa and Susil Premajayantha is the general secretary of UPFA.The alliance was formed by:... |
Betel Leaf | Y | Y | Y |
| United National Party United National Party The United National Party, often referred to as the UNP ), , is a political party in Sri Lanka. It currently is the main opposition party in Sri Lanka and is headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe... |
Elephant | Y | Y | Y |
| United Socialist Party United Socialist Party (Sri Lanka) The United Socialist Party is a Trotskyist political party in Sri Lanka. It is a member of the Committee for a Workers' International. It is led by Siritunga Jayasuriya and publishes a monthly paper, Sentharakai .-History:... |
Tri-Shaw | Y | Y | Y |
| Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna The Janathā Vimukthi Peramuṇa is a Marxist-Leninist, Communist political party in Sri Lanka. The party was involved in two armed uprisings against the ruling governments in 1971 and 1987-89... |
Bell | Y | Y | Y |
| People's Front of Liberation Tigers People's Front of Liberation Tigers The People's Front of Liberation Tigers is a political party in Sri Lanka, founded as the political wing of the LTTE in 1989. Mahattaya was the founding president of the PFLT. PFLT took part as an observer in the August 12, 1989 All Party Conference, and was prepared to take part in elections... |
Tiger | Y | Y | Y |
| Sinhalaye Mahasammatha Bhoomiputra Pakshaya Sinhalaye Mahasammatha Bhoomiputra Pakshaya Sinhalaye Mahasammatha Bhoomiputhra Pakshaya is a minor Sinhala Buddhist political party in Sri Lanka, led by Dr. Harischandra Wijayatunga.... |
Aeroplane | Y | Y | Y |
Parties contesting in 2 districts
| Political Party | Symbol | Batticaloa Batticaloa District Batticaloa district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The headquarters is located in Batticaloa town... |
Ampara Ampara District Ampara district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The headquarters is located in Ampara town... |
Trincomalee Trincomalee District Trincomalee district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Eelavar Democratic Front | Plough | Y | - | Y |
| Sri Lanka National Front | Cricket Bat | Y | - | Y |
| Sri Lanka Progressive Front | Flower Vase | Y | - | Y |
| Jathika Sangwardena Peramuna | Coconut | - | Y | Y |
| Ruhunu Janatha Party | Motor Car | - | Y | Y |
Parties contesting in 1 district
| Political Party | Symbol | Batticaloa Batticaloa District Batticaloa district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The headquarters is located in Batticaloa town... |
Ampara Ampara District Ampara district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The headquarters is located in Ampara town... |
Trincomalee Trincomalee District Trincomalee district is one of the 25 administrative districts of Sri Lanka. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka... |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tamizh Democratic National Alliance | Anchor | Y | - | - |
| Muslim Liberation Front | Butterfly | Y | - | - |
| Eelam People's Democratic Party Eelam People's Democratic Party The Eelam People's Democratic Party is a political party and a pro-government paramilitary organization in Sri Lanka. It is led by its founder Douglas Devananda.-Background:... |
Veena | Y | - | - |
| Nawa Sihala Urumaya | Bow and Arrow | - | Y | - |
| United National Alliance | Swan | - | Y | - |
| The Liberal Party Liberal Party of Sri Lanka The Liberal Party of Sri Lanka began as a think-tank called the Council for Liberal Democracy, founded in 1981 by the late Dr. Chanaka Amaratunga, a longstanding member of the United National Party which was then in government.... |
Book | - | Y | - |
In addition, there were 11 independent parties contesting in the Batticaloa District, 22 in the Ampara District and 19 in the Trincomalee District.
Lead up to the elections
Despite some concerns that armed groups would disrupt the elections, the independent election monitoring group People's Action Front for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) said that they did not see any evidence of any groups using arms during the campaigning. 10 days before the election, the chief of PAFFEREL Kingsley Rodrigo told the Daily Mirror that he expected to see a free and fair election.There will also be 2,500 local and 20 internal polls monitors on the ground monitoring the elections.
There was a powerful bomb exploded at the town of Ampara on May 9, 2008 just a day before the elections, also 11 people killed and 36 sustained injuries. The suspected LTTE planted the bomb by targeting government military personal that used this place as a resting place.
Results
According to official results, the ruling United People's Freedom AllianceUnited People's Freedom Alliance
The United People's Freedom Alliance is a political alliance in Sri Lanka. The current leader of the United People's Freedom Alliance is Mahinda Rajapaksa and Susil Premajayantha is the general secretary of UPFA.The alliance was formed by:...
gained a majority in the Provincial Council, which was seen as a strike against the Tamil Tiger rebels. The UPFA won 20 seats (18 seats directly and two bonus seats for gaining the most votes overall), the opposition United National Party
United National Party
The United National Party, often referred to as the UNP ), , is a political party in Sri Lanka. It currently is the main opposition party in Sri Lanka and is headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe...
15 seats and two smaller parties, the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
The Janathā Vimukthi Peramuṇa is a Marxist-Leninist, Communist political party in Sri Lanka. The party was involved in two armed uprisings against the ruling governments in 1971 and 1987-89...
and the Tamizh Democratic National Alliance won one seat each.
Pillayan, a former rebel leader, was sworn in as Chief Minister of Eastern Province on 16 May 2008.
Claims of election irregularities
The United National PartyUnited National Party
The United National Party, often referred to as the UNP ), , is a political party in Sri Lanka. It currently is the main opposition party in Sri Lanka and is headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe...
, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress is a political party in Sri Lanka. The party was formed at a meeting held at Kattankudy in 1981 by a small study group of local Eastern Province political leaders....
and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
The Janathā Vimukthi Peramuṇa is a Marxist-Leninist, Communist political party in Sri Lanka. The party was involved in two armed uprisings against the ruling governments in 1971 and 1987-89...
claimed that many incidents of election irregularities such as vote rigging was carried out by members of the United People's Freedom Alliance
United People's Freedom Alliance
The United People's Freedom Alliance is a political alliance in Sri Lanka. The current leader of the United People's Freedom Alliance is Mahinda Rajapaksa and Susil Premajayantha is the general secretary of UPFA.The alliance was formed by:...
and the TamilEela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal
TamilEela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal
Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal , previously known as the "Karuna Group", is a political party in Sri Lanka. It was formed by Karuna Amman, a former leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, after he defected from the organization in 2004...
during election day. The UNP and the SLMC has made a petition challenging the result of Ampara district PC to the supreme court.