There are 41 Urban councils in Sri Lanka , which are the legislative bodies that preside over the second tier municipalities in the country. [1] [2] Introduced in 1987 through the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, Urban councils became a devolved subject under the Provincial Councils in the Local Government system of Sri Lanka. [3] The Urban councils collectively govern approximately 1,388,000 people. There are 417 Councillors in total, ranging from 22 to 7 per council. [4] [5]
United People's Freedom Alliance United National Party Tamil National Alliance
Sri Lanka, formerly known as Ceylon, and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, and southeast of the Arabian Sea; it is separated from the Indian subcontinent by the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait. Sri Lanka shares a maritime border with India and the Maldives. Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is its legislative capital, and Colombo is its largest city and financial centre.
The Western 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. The province is the most densely populated province in the country and is home to the legislative capital Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte as well to Colombo, the nation's administrative and business center.
Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia, population 245,974 (2012) is the largest suburb of the City of Colombo, and covers an extent of 2109 hectares. It lies south of the Colombo Municipal Council area and separated from it by the Dehiwala canal which forms the northern boundary of DMMC. Its southern limits lie in Borupana Road and the eastern boundary is Weras Ganga with its canal system and including some areas to its east. This town has extensive population and rapid industrialisation and urbanization in recent years. It is home to Sri Lanka's National Zoological Gardens, which remains one of Asia's largest. Colombo South Teaching Hospital, Kalubowila and Colombo Airport, Ratmalana are some important landmark in this area. Dehiwela-Mount Lavinia and Sri Jayawardenapura Kotte being two large suburban centres of the city of Colombo function together as one large urban agglomeration in the Region. The overspill from the City in residential and commercial uses of land have rapidly urbanised these suburban centers. Dehiwela-Mount Lavinia and Sri Jayawardenpaura along with Colombo Municipal Council form the most urbanised part of the core area of the Colombo Metropolitan Region. Dehiwala and Mount Lavinia lie along the Galle Road artery, which runs along the coast to the south of the country.
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.
The Colombo Municipal Council is the municipal governing body of Colombo, the largest city and financial centre in Sri Lanka. It consists of a directly elected executive Mayor of Colombo, current elect is Rosy Senanayake, and 119 elected 119 municipal councilors. The council was formed in 1865, it first met in 1866 and derives most of its powers from Municipal Council Ordinance No. 29 of 1947.
Jaffna District is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the second level administrative division of the country. The district is administered by a District Secretariat headed by a District Secretary appointed by the central government of Sri Lanka. The capital of the district is the city of Jaffna.
Akilan Manoharan Ganesan is a Sri Lankan trade unionist, politician and government minister. He is the leader of the Democratic People's Front (DPF) and Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA), members of the United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG).
Bandarawela is the second largest town in the Badulla District which is 28 km (17 mi) away from Badulla. Bandarawela is 200 km (120 mi) away from Colombo and about 125 km (78 mi) away from Kandy, the two largest cities of Sri Lanka. Thanks to its higher altitude, compared to surrounding locations, Bandarawela has milder weather conditions throughout the year making it a tourist destination for locals. Bandarawela is within hours reach of surrounding towns and cities by both road and rail. The town is influenced by its colonial history and rests among dense, lush forestation occupying a niche among visitors as a base for eco-tourism.
There are 24 Municipal councils in Sri Lanka, which are the legislative bodies that preside over the largest cities and first tier municipalities in the country. Introduced in 1987 through the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, municipal councils became a devolved subject under the Provincial Councils in the Local Government system of Sri Lanka. Until 2017 municipal councils collectively governed 2,765,533 people within a 698 square kilometer area. There were 445 Councillors in total, ranging from 53 to 9 per council.
The Central Province is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the country. The Central Province is primarily in the central mountainous terrain of Sri Lanka. It is the 6th largest province by area and is home to 2.5 million people. It is bordered by North Central Province to the north, Uva Province to the east, North Western Province to the west and Sabaragamuwa Province to the south and west. The province's capital is Kandy.
Local elections were held in Sri Lanka on 8 August 2009 for two local councils in the north of the country: Jaffna Municipal Council and Vavuniya Urban Council. They were the first elections held in the country since the government declared victory in the 26-year-old civil war on 18 May 2009. They were also the first local elections held in the Northern Province in more than 11 years. Both towns had been under government control for many years. The government won the Jaffna Municipal Council contest by securing 13 of the 23 seats. The Tamil National Alliance (TNA) won the Vavuniya Urban Council contest by securing 5 of the 11 seats. Turnout was very low in Jaffna (22%) but it was better in Vavuniya (52%).
Local government is the third and lowest level of government in Sri Lanka – after the central government and provincial councils. The local government bodies are collectively known as local authorities. They are responsible for providing a variety of local public services including roads, sanitation, drains, housing, libraries, public parks and recreational facilities. Local authorities are divided into three different groups: municipal councils, urban councils and divisional councils. As of November 2017 there were 341 local authorities. All local authorities are elected using the mixed electoral system.
The Ministry of Provincial Councils and Local Government is a cabinet ministry of the Government of Sri Lanka responsible for provincial councils and local government. The ministry is responsible for formulating and implementing national policy on provincial councils and Local Government and other subjects which come under its purview. The current Minister of Provincial Councils and Local Government is Faiszer Musthapha. The State Minister for the ministry, Piyankara Jayaratne, resigned in 2016. The ministry's secretary is H. T. Kamal Pathmasiri. The ministry has had oversight of drafting the 20th Amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution.
The Matara Municipal Council is the local council for Matara, the second largest city in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka, the third level administrative division of the country. The council was established under the Municipalities Ordinance of 1865 as the 13th municipal council of Sri Lanka.
Ministry of Megapolis and Western Development was an appointment in the Cabinet of Sri Lanka formulated by Ranil Wickremesinghe government that came into power in August 2015 elections of Sri Lanka. The ministry was in charge of discovering solutions to resolve the garbage, housing of shanty dwellers issues as well drawing new traffic plans to avoid traffic jams in busy towns. The ministry planned to develop new cities in Bandaragama, Kadawatha, Kottawa and Kerawalapitiya surrounding the outer circular that was to come under construction as a part of the megapolis development plan.
The Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Municipal Council is the local council for Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the administrative city of Sri Lanka. The council was first formed as Kotte Urban Development Council which was established in the 1930s and the council became Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Municipal Council in 1997, Chandra Silva was elected as the first mayor.
There are 276 Pradeshiya Sabhas in Sri Lanka, which are the legislative bodies that preside over the third tier municipalities in the country. Introduced in 1987 through the 13th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka, Pradeshiya Sabhas became a devolved subject under the Provincial Councils in the Local Government system of Sri Lanka. The Pradeshiya Sabhas collectively govern approximately 16,726,000 people. There are 3,624 Councillors in total, ranging from 5 to 23 per council.
The Election Commission of Sri Lanka is the constitutional authority responsible for administering and overseeing all elections in Sri Lanka, including the Presidential, Parliamentary, Provincial and Local Authority elections. Sri Lanka has had universal adult suffrage since 1931, becoming the first Crown colony to enfranchise all adult citizens, 3 years after the United Kingdom itself; the country is the oldest democracy in Asia.
Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia Municipal Council (DMMC) is the local authority for the city of Dehiwala-Mount Lavinia in Sri Lanka. The Council is responsible for providing a variety of local public services including roads, sanitation, drains, housing, libraries, public parks and recreational facilities. It has 48 members elected under the mixed electoral system where 60% of members will be elected using first-past-the-post voting and the remaining 40% through closed list proportional representation.
The Kaduwela Municipal Council is the local council for Kaduwela, in Colombo District, Sri Lanka.It wields first place in terms of size, with an area of 87.71 square kilometres including the reservoirs, water courses and bodies. It is 13.4% of the area of Colombo District. By the end of the year 2016, the total population of the area was reported as 260,341.