By Xinhua
Colombo : Elections will soon be held in Sri Lanka’s eastern province, recently recaptured from the Tamil Tiger rebels by the government forces, officials said Friday.
The Department of Elections has issued a gazette notification calling for nominations to contest the eastern provincial council election.
The nominations will be accepted between March 27 and April 3. The election date is to be announced later.
This will be the first provincial council election in the east since it was separated from the north through a judicial order in late 2006.
The government last week held local council elections for nine local bodies in the province.
The elections in the province are part of the government’s plan to restore democracy and civil administration in the east, where Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) had controlled some parts for a long period.
The government said the entire province was brought under government control after evicting the rebels from the eastern jungles in July 2007.
The Tamil rebels fought for two decades to set up an independent homeland in the east and the north of the island. More than 70,000 people have been killed in the conflict.