Saturday, 6 July 2013 00:00
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Northern PC to be constituted for the first time in 23 years
Governors of Central, North Western provinces to dissolve councils at midnight
TNA to announce Chief Ministerial candidate when poll date is declared
UNP to contest; SLMC mulling fielding candidates
TNA sets up 15-member elections committee to oversee preparations
By Dharisha Bastians
President Mahinda Rajapaksa yesterday issued a proclamation constituting the Northern Provincial Council and instructed the Commissioner of Elections to begin preparations to conduct the poll in the formerly embattled region.
Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya is yet to officially set a date for polling in the North, although he has indicated that the election would be held either on 21 or 28 September.
The Government was mulling major reform to the 13th Amendment to the Constitution that devolution proponents said would significantly weaken the powers of the provincial councils accrued by the constitutional amendment that came about as a result of the Indo Lanka Accord of 1987. However, plans have been shelved until after the polls and a major Commonwealth summit in Colombo scheduled for November, due to intense pressure from New Delhi and a serious lack of consensus within the ranks of the ruling UPFA coalition, sources said.
The Northern Provincial Council has not been constituted since 1990. The North East Provincial Council (NEPC) was set up in 1988 following elections, only to be dissolved in June 1990. A ruling by the Supreme Court in October 2006 de-merged the North and the East, separating the two provinces administratively. This is the first time a provincial poll will be held in the North in 25 years.
The Tamil National Alliance and the Douglas Devananda-led Eelam Peoples Democratic Party will be main rivals in the Northern election. The UPFA will also likely contest the poll, with the SLMC also mulling fielding candidates at the historic election.
The main Opposition United National Party Vice President Lakshman Kiriella who spoke to Daily FT said the party had decided to contest the NPC poll. “A decision was made to contest the election and there have been lots of applicants requesting nominations,” Kiriella said. He said the brother of slain UNP MP T. Maheswaran, T. Thuwarakeswaran will be among the prominent names contesting the Northern Provincial Council election on the UNP ticket.
TNA President Suresh Premachandran told the Daily FT that the party would announce its choice for Chief Ministerial candidate as soon as the Elections Commissioner declares the date of the poll.
Premachandran said that the constituent parties of the Tamil National Alliance had met on Thursday and set up a 15-member committee to make preparations for the NPC poll.
“Five members will be on the elections nominations board, while another five will be on the financial committee that will oversee all financial matters with regard to the election. The committee will meet on Saturday for discussions,” the TNA President said.
Premachandran expressed fears that the Government would still attempt to bring changes to the 13th Amendment ahead of the Northern election scheduled for September, probably on 9 July when the Parliamentary Select Committee set up to make recommendations on constitutional reform on devolution is expected to convene for the first time.
“The Government’s decision on whether to go through with the 13th Amendment changes will depend on what Minister Basil Rajapaksa is told during his visit to New Delhi,” Premachandran guessed.
He said the Tamil National Alliance delegation that met Indian Government officials for talks in New Delhi recently told officials there that they were totally against the Government’s proposed amendments to the 13A because it completely strips the provinces of power.
“If the Government brings an amendment allowing the centre to make any law relating to the powers of the provincial councils with just majority support from the councils, that means that all powers of the councils become concurrent list powers,” Premachandran told the Daily FT.
Meanwhile the Governors of the Central and North Western provinces which will also likely poll on the same day, have already signed letters authorising the dissolution of the two councils at midnight yesterday.
