By Xinhua,
Colombo : Sri Lanka’s ruling party the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) has won the local government elections in North Central Province and Sabaragamuva Province, officials from the Department of Elections said Sunday.
The UPFA won 20 seats in North Central Provincial Council, followed by 12 seats of the main opposition the United National Party (UNP) and one seat of the leftist party JVP (People’s Liberation Front).
In the election for Sabaragamuva Provincial Council, the UPFA bagged 25 seats, while the UNP and the JVP took 17 seats and two seats respectively.
Some 2.1 million voters were eligible to vote in these two elections held on Saturday, elections officials said.
The turnout in North Central Province was 67.75 percent while Sabaragamuva Province recorded a turnout of 68.37 percent.
Sri Lanka’s independent election watchdogs said earlier that both elections were generally free and fair.
Voting took place in 758 polling stations in North Central Province with 690 candidates from 37 political parties and independent groups vying for 33 member slots in the council.
In Sabaragamuva Province polls held at 1,014 stations with 1, 008 candidates from 19 different parties vying for 44 seats in the council.
The run-up to the elections was marred by a high level of violence with all parties being accused of assault, arson and destruction of property belonging to rivals.
High level of pre-election violence led to special security measures being put in place on the election day.
The Army was also deployed in some areas in view of heightened tension among contesting parties.
The two elections were called by President Mahinda Rajapakse 14months ahead of the schedule to test the public mood on his current military campaign against Tamil Tiger rebels in the north and east.
The elections came after the ruling party won the Province Council election in Eastern Province in May.