Background
In an attempt to end the Sri Lankan Civil War the Indo-Lanka Accord was signed on 29 July 1987. One of the requirements of the accord was that the Sri Lankan government to devolve powers to the provinces. [1] Accordingly, on 14 November 1987 the Sri Lankan Parliament passed the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka and the Provincial Councils Act No 42 of 1987. [2] [3] On 3 February 1988 nine provincial councils were created by order. [4] The first elections for provincial councils took place on 28 April 1988 in North Central, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, and Uva provinces. [5] On 2 June 1988 elections were held for provincial councils for Central, Southern and Western provinces. The United National Party (UNP), which was in power nationally, won control of all seven provincial councils.
The Indo-Lanka Accord also required the merger of the Eastern and Northern provinces into one administrative unit. The accord required a referendum to be held by 31 December 1988 in the Eastern Province to decide whether the merger should be permanent. Crucially, the accord allowed the Sri Lankan president to postpone the referendum at his discretion. [1] On September 2 and 8 1988 President Jayewardene issued proclamations enabling the Eastern and Northern provinces to be one administrative unit administered by one elected council, creating the North Eastern Province. [4] Elections in the newly merged North Eastern Province were held on 19 November 1988. The Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front, an Indian backed paramilitary group, won control of the North Eastern provincial council.
On 1 March 1990, just as the Indian Peace Keeping Force were preparing to withdraw from Sri Lanka, Annamalai Varadaraja Perumal, Chief Minister of the North Eastern Province, moved a motion in the North Eastern Provincial Council declaring an independent Eelam. [6] President Premadasa reacted to Permual's UDI by dissolving the provincial council and imposing direct rule on the province.
The 2nd Sri Lankan provincial council election was held in 1993 in seven provinces. The UNP retained control of six provincial councils but lost control of the largest provincial council, Western, to the opposition People's Alliance. A special election was held in Southern Province in 1994 after some UNP provincial councillors defected to the opposition. The PA won the election and took control of the Southern Provincial Council.
The 3rd Sri Lankan provincial council election was held in 1999 in seven provinces. The PA, which was now in power nationally, managed to win the majority of seats in two provinces (North Central and North Western). It was also able to form a majority administration in the other five provinces with the support of smaller parties such as the Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) . The UNP regained control of the Central Provincial Council in 2002 after the CWC councillors crossed over to the opposition. [7]
The 4th Sri Lankan provincial council election was held in 2004 in seven provinces. The United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), the successor to the PA, won all seven provinces.
On 14 July 2006, after a long campaign against the merger, the JVP filed three separate petitions with the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka requesting a separate Provincial Council for the East. [4] On 16 October 2006 the Supreme Court ruled that the proclamations issued by President Jayewardene were null and void and had no legal effect. [4] The North Eastern Province was formally demerged into the Northern and Eastern provinces on 1 January 2007.
The 5th Sri Lankan provincial council election was held on a staggered basis during 2008/09 in eight provinces including the newly demerged Eastern Province. The UPFA won all eight provinces.
The 6th Sri Lankan provincial council election was also held on a staggered basis during 2012-14 in eight provinces, including in the Northern Province for the first time in 25 years. Elections were held on 8 September 2012 in Eastern, North Central and Sabaragamuwa provinces. The UPFA won the majority of seats in two provinces (North Central and Sabaragamuwa) and was also able to form a majority administration in Eastern Provinces with the support of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress. Elections were held on 21 September 2013 in Central, Northern and North Western provinces. The UPFA won the majority of seats in two provinces (Central and North Western) whilst the Tamil National Alliance won in the Northern Province. [8] [9] [10] Southern Provincial Council and Western Provincial Council were dissolved by their governors on 12 January 2014. [11] [12]
Provinces are the first level administrative divisions of Sri Lanka. Currently, Sri Lanka is divided into 9 provinces. Each province is further divided into districts, which are further divided into divisional secretariats.
The Eastern Province is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was temporarily merged with the Northern Province to form the North Eastern Province. The capital of the province is Trincomalee. Kalmunai is the largest and most populous city of Eastern Province.
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 provinces on 1 January 2007. The capital of the province was Trincomalee.
The Sri Lanka Eastern Provincial Council elections, 2008 was held on May 10, 2008 to elect members to Sri Lanka’s Eastern Provincial Council. Following the successful completion of local government elections in the Batticaloa District, 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.
The Eastern Provincial Council is the provincial council for the Eastern Province in Sri Lanka. In accordance with the Sri Lankan constitution, EPC has legislative power over a variety of matters including agriculture, education, health, housing, local government, planning, road transport and social services. The constitution also gives it powers over police and land but successive central governments have refused to devolve these powers to the provinces. EPC has 37 members elected using the open list proportional representation system.
Sri Lanka has held several rounds of Provincial Council elections in 2008 and 2009 to elect members to eight of the country’s Provincial Councils. The decision to hold elections in different parts of the country on separate days was a break in the usual practice, which is to hold elections for the whole country on the same day. For each provincial council, members are elected to serve a five-year term. A chief minister for the province is chosen by the elected members.
Provincial Council elections were held on 19 November 1988 to elect members to Sri Lanka’s North Eastern Provincial Council.
The Northern Province is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka. The province has an area of 8,884 km2, making it the 3rd largest province by area, and a population of 1,061,315, making it the least populated province. The city of Jaffna is the capital city of the province.
Kalutara electoral district is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Kalutara in the Western province. The district currently elects 10 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 813,233 registered electors in 2010.
Puttalam electoral district is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Puttalam in the North Western province. The district currently elects 8 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 495,575 registered electors in 2010.
Kegalle electoral district is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Kegalle in the Sabaragamuwa province. The district currently elects 9 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 613,938 registered electors in 2010.
Ratnapura electoral district is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Ratnapura in the Sabaragamuwa province. The district currently elects 10 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 734,651 registered electors in 2010.
The 2004 Sri Lankan provincial council election was held on 24 April 2004 and 10 July 2004 to elect members to seven provincial councils in Sri Lanka. No election was held in the eighth province, North Eastern, which had been governed directly by the national government since March 1990. The United People's Freedom Alliance, which was in power nationally, won all seven provinces.
Northern Provincial Council is the provincial council for the Northern Province in Sri Lanka. In accordance with the Sri Lankan constitution, NPC has legislative power over a variety of matters including agriculture, education, health, housing, local government, planning, road transport and social services. The constitution also gives it powers over police and land but successive central governments have refused to devolve these powers to the provinces. NPC has 38 members elected using the open list proportional representation system.
The 1999 Sri Lankan provincial council election was held on 25 January 1999, 6 April 1999 and 10 June 1999 to elect members to seven provincial councils in Sri Lanka. No election was held in the eighth province, North Eastern, which had been governed directly by the national government since March 1990. The People's Alliance, which was in power nationally, won the majority of seats in two provinces. It was also able to form a majority administration in the other five provinces with the support of smaller parties such as the Ceylon Workers' Congress.
Provincial council elections were held in Sri Lanka on 8 September 2012 to elect 114 members to three of the nine provincial councils in the country. 3.3 million Sri Lankans were eligible to vote in the election. Elections for the Northern Provincial Council, which had been governed directly by the national government since it was demerged from the North Eastern Provincial Council in January 2007, are overdue but the government has not set a date. Elections to the remaining five provincial councils are not due till 2014 as they had their last election in 2009.
The 1st Eastern Provincial Council was a meeting of the Eastern Provincial Council, with the membership determined by the results of the 2008 provincial council election held on 10 May 2008. The council met for the first time on 4 June 2008 and was dissolved prematurely on 27 June 2012.
Provincial council elections were held in Sri Lanka on 21 September 2013 to elect 148 members to three of the nine provincial councils in the country. 4.4 million Sri Lankans were eligible to vote in the election. Elections to the remaining six provincial councils were not due as they had their last election in 2009 or 2012. This was the first provincial council election in the Northern Province in 25 years.
Provincial governments of Sri Lanka are the devolved governments of the nine Provinces of Sri Lanka. In accordance with the Sri Lankan constitution, provinces have legislative power over a variety of matters including agriculture, education, health, housing, local government, planning, road transport and social services. The constitution also gives them powers over police and land but successive central governments have refused to devolve these powers to the provinces.
The Government of the Northern Province refers to the provincial government of the Northern Province of Sri Lanka. Under the Sri Lankan constitution the nine provincial governments of the country have power over a variety of matters including agriculture, education, health, housing, local government, planning, road transport and social services. The constitution also gives them powers over police and land but successive central governments have refused to devolve these powers to the provinces. Legislative power rests with the Northern Provincial Council whilst executive power rests with the Governor and Board of Ministers.
