By Xinhua,
Colombo : The Sri Lankan government plans to hold local council elections in regions formerly controlled by the Tamil Tigers, a minister said here Monday.
“I have today (Monday) signed the relevant gazette notification,” said Janaka Bandara Tennakoon, minister of local government and provincial councils.
He said the local council elections in Vavuniya and Jaffna districts would be held before August.
The commissioner of elections should be calling nominations in the next few days, Tennakoon added.
He said elections for the rest of the councils in the Northern Province would take place later.
These will be the first elections in the north since the government last week announced the end of the 25-year-old ethnic conflict with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.