By Bernama
Colombo : Sri Lanka’ s military-political group Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP) won eight local bodies of nine in the local elections of the eastern Batticaloa district held on Monday, China’s Xinhua news agency quoted the government as saying on Tuesday.
The Government Information Department said in a statement that the TMVP won the local council elections in Koralepattu North, Eravurpattu, Koralepattu, Manmunaipattu, Manmunai North, Manmunai South West, Manmunai South and Eruvilpattu, as well as Manmunai West and Porativupatttu.
Meanwhile, the ruling United Peoples Freedom Alliance won the Batticaloa Municipal Council after getting 54 percent of the vote and obtaining 11 seats of the total number of 19.
The main opposition United National Party and the main Tamil minority party the Tamil National Alliance opted out of the poll, claiming the government was planning to boost up an armed group in the form of TMVP, which split from the mainstream Tamil Tiger rebels in 2004.
Government officials said about 56 percent voters cast their ballots on Monday in Batticaloa’s first local council elections in 14 years.
Kingsley Rodrigo, chairman of election watchdog People’s Action For Free and Fair Elections said Monday evening that the polling was peaceful and incident free.
However, the main Muslim minority party, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress said it had complained to Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake that the polling was not free and fair in Muslim dominated areas.
They claimed large scale vote rigging in the Valaichchenai area.
The election was to appoint 101 councillors to nine local councils in the Batticaloa district which include areas recently liberated by government troops from the control of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).
According to the electoral registry, 270,471 voters are eligible to participate in the elections. Nine political parties and 22 independent groups fielded 831 candidates for the elections.
The government said Monday’s election was the first step in its action to restore civilian life in the district since the entire Eastern Province was freed from the LTTE in July last year.