Uvais Mohamed Imitiyas
Encyclopedia
Uvais Mohamed Imitiyas is the Mayor
of Colombo
, Sri Lanka
. Effectively unelected, he assumed office on a technicality. Imtiyas was a Three Wheel Auto Driver from an impoverished background who contested local government elections on an independent ticket. At that stage he had no realistic chance of being elected. However, technical electoral issues (proposing an underage candidate in the list) meant that the UNP candidates led by Sirisena Cooray could not run under that symbol (the elephant). An agreement was reached to use the symbol of Imitiyas's group on the condition that he would renounce the seat if elected. UNP led by Cooray campaigned for the independent group and they won under the spectacles symbol, but Imitiyas reneged on the agreement and remained in office.
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
of Colombo
Colombo
Colombo is the largest city of Sri Lanka. It is located on the west coast of the island and adjacent to Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte, the capital of Sri Lanka. Colombo is often referred to as the capital of the country, since Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte is a satellite city of Colombo...
, Sri Lanka
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...
. Effectively unelected, he assumed office on a technicality. Imtiyas was a Three Wheel Auto Driver from an impoverished background who contested local government elections on an independent ticket. At that stage he had no realistic chance of being elected. However, technical electoral issues (proposing an underage candidate in the list) meant that the UNP candidates led by Sirisena Cooray could not run under that symbol (the elephant). An agreement was reached to use the symbol of Imitiyas's group on the condition that he would renounce the seat if elected. UNP led by Cooray campaigned for the independent group and they won under the spectacles symbol, but Imitiyas reneged on the agreement and remained in office.