Jaffna Municipal Council

Jaffna Municipal Council
Type
Type Local authority
Leadership
Mayor Patkunam Yogeswary, UPFA (EPDP)
since 12 October 2009
Deputy Mayor Thurairajah Illango, UPFA (EPDP)
since 12 October 2009
Municipal Commissioner M. S. Saravanbavan
Members 23
Elections
Last election Sri Lankan local government elections, 2009
Website
jaffnamc.lk

Jaffna Municipal Council (JMC) is the local authority for the city of Jaffna in northern Sri Lanka.[1] JMC is responsible for providing a variety of local public services including roads, sanitation, drains, housing, libraries, public parks and recreational facilities. It has 23 members elected using the open list proportional representation system.

Contents

Mayors

The following were some of the city's mayors:[2]

Election results

1983 local government election

Results of the local government election held on 18 May 1983:[3]

Alliances and parties Votes % Seats
  Tamil United Liberation Front 8,594 88.63% 23
  United National Party 830 8.56% 0
  All Ceylon Tamil Congress 272 2.81% 0
Valid Votes 9,696 100.00% 23
Rejected Votes 74
Total Polled 9,770
Registered Electors 66,921
Turnout 14.60% 
Jaffna didn't have an elected local government for sporadic periods, this was due to various reasons[4]. Aljazeera, the Asiafoundation and the Daily Mirror attribute this to civil war [5][6]; Reuters and the US State Department attribute this to calls for election boycotts by the LTTE (enforced with brutal reprisals for non compliance)[7][8]; the Taipei Times and the BBC attribute this to area coming under LTTE control[9][10] and the Tamilnet attribute it to The Sri Lankan government's suspension of all local government in the north and east of the country in 1983 using Emergency Regulations.[11]

1998 local government election

Results of the local government election held on 29 January 1998:[12][13]

Alliances and parties Votes % Seats
  Tamil United Liberation Front 3,540 33.31% 9
  Democratic People's Liberation Front (PLOTE) 3,182 29.94% 6
  Eelam People's Democratic Party 2,963 27.88% 6
  Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front 943 8.87% 2
Valid Votes 10,628 100.00% 23
Rejected Votes 907
Total Polled 11,535
Registered Electors 82,667
Turnout 13.95%

The normal life term of Sri Lankan local government bodies is four years. The life term of JMC expired in February 2002 but the central government extended this by another year, as the law allows. Elections should have been held when the extension expired in February 2003 but in January 2003, following a request from the Tamil National Alliance, the central government instead dissolved JMC and instead put in place special commissions to administer the local areas.[14] JMC continued to be administered by these special commissions until the 2009 elections.

2009 local government election

Results of the local government election held on 8 August 2009:[15]

Alliances and parties Votes % Seats
  United People's Freedom Alliance (EPDP, SLFP, ACMC et al.) 10,602 50.67% 13
  Tamil National Alliance (ITAK, EPRLF (S), TELO) 8,008 38.28% 8
Independent 1 1,175 5.62% 1
  Tamil United Liberation Front (TULF, PLOTE, EPRLF (V)) 1,007 4.81% 1
  United National Party 83 0.40% 0
Independent 2 47 0.22% 0
Valid Votes 20,922 100.00% 23
Rejected Votes 1,358
Total Polled 22,280
Registered Electors 100,417
Turnout 22.19%

The following candidates were elected:[16] Mudiyappu Remediyas (TNA), 4,223 preference votes (pv); Thurairajah Illango alias Regan (UPFA-EPDP), 3,387 pv; Mohamed Sultan Moulavi Sufian (Ind 1), 1,779 pv; Anthonypillai Mariamma (TNA), 1,678 pv; Murugiah Komahan (UPFA-EPDP), 1,573 pv; Karthigesu Nadarasa Kanagaratnam (TNA), 1,442 pv; Manuel Mangaleswaran alias Nesapriyan (UPFA-EPDP), 1,394 pv; Meerasahib Mohamed Rameez (UPFA-ACMC), 1,338 pv; Patkunam Yogeswary (UPFA-EPDP), 1,250 pv; Pilevian Expedith Cracian (UPFA-EPDP), 1,166 pv; Nadarajah Rajathevan (TNA), 1,118 pv; Benjamin Jacob (TNA), 1,039 pv; Mohamed Merasahib Mustafa (UPFA-ACMC), 1,029 pv; Manikkam Kanagaraththinam (UPFA-EPDP), 1,025 pv; Ariyakuddy Paramsothy (TNA), 1,007 pv; Sutharsingh Vijiyakanth (UPFA-EPDP), 989 pv; Asker Roomi Badurtheen (UPFA-ACMC), 979 pv; Ajmaeen Asfar (UPFA-ACMC), 960 pv; Suvikaran Nishanthan (UPFA-EPDP), 896 pv; Anthonipillai Cilapotasious (UPFA-EPDP), 889 pv; Mariyakorattry Anton (TNA), 881 pv; Arulappu Korneliyas (TNA), 826 pv; and Veerasingham Anandasangaree (TULF) 424 pv.

Patkunam Yogeswary (UPFA-EPDP) and Thurairajah Illango (UPFA-EPDP) were appointed Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively.[17] Mudiyappu Remediyas of the TNA was appointed as the Opposition Leader of the Council but he crossed over to the UPFA in June 2011.[18]

References

  1. ^ "Jaffna Municipal Council". Government of Sri Lanka. http://www.gov.lk/gov/index.php?option=com_org&id=994&task=showdetails&Itemid=57&lang=en. 
  2. ^ "Past mayors". Jaffna Municipal Council. http://www.jaffnamc.lk/english/municipal_council_past_mayors.php. 
  3. ^ Sarveswaran, K. (2005). The Tamil United Liberation Front: Rise and Decline of a Moderate Ethnic Party in Sri Lanka (1976-2000). Jawaharal Nehru University. 
  4. ^ Lanka cannot afford to despise UN system
  5. ^ In Northern Sri Lanka, Local Governments Prepare for Post-War Development
  6. ^ Sri Lankans vote in local elections
  7. ^ Sri Lanka's war-weary north votes amid intimidation, mistrust
  8. ^ US State Department
  9. ^ [1]
  10. ^ Post-war Sri Lanka vote date set
  11. ^ "TNA urges PM to put off NE local polls". TamilNet. 11 September 2002. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=7457. Retrieved 4 July 2009. 
  12. ^ "Election commissioner releases results". TamilNet. 30 January 1998. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=814. 
  13. ^ D.B.S. Jeyaraj (15 February 1998). "The Jaffna Elections". Tamil Times XVII (2): 12–15. ISSN 0266-4488. 
  14. ^ "Jaffna local bodies to be administered by special commissioners". TamilNet. 14 January 2003. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=8158. Retrieved 4 July 2009. 
  15. ^ "Local Authorities Election 2009 Final Results Jaffna Municipal Council". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. http://www.slelections.gov.lk/localAuthorities/2009/Sub%20Pages/jaffna_JAFFNA_MUNICIPAL_COUNCIL.htm. 
  16. ^ "Local Authorities Election 2009 Final Results Jaffna Municipal Council - Preferences". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/PrefBadulla2009.pdf. Retrieved 19 August 2009. 
  17. ^ "No signs of resettlement of IDPs in KKS". TamilNet. 13 October 2009. http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=30430. 
  18. ^ "Remidias crosses over to UPFA". Daily Mirror. 5 June 2011. http://dailymirror.lk/news/11762-remidias-crosses-over-to-upfa.html. 
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