The Government of Japan has provided financial assistance of USD 1.33 million to Sri Lanka.

This aid is intended for the upliftment of freshwater fishermen affected by Cyclone Diwtah.

The official agreement to this effect was signed by the Minister of Fisheries, Ramalingam Chandrasekaran, and the Japanese Ambassador to Sri Lanka, Akio Isomata.

Under this initiative, 200 fish cages will be established in 30 selected reservoirs within the Eastern Province.

Furthermore, this program will provide technical training to the fishermen, alongside fish fingerlings and fish feed free of charge for the first cultivation cycle.

Tilvin Silva, the General Secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) has stirred up a hornet’s nest by claiming that the provincial council elections which had been last held in 2014 would only be held next year, if any new issue is not cropped up.

This statement made at the opening ceremony of the JVP’s Jaffna District office on Saturday runs counter to many promises on the provincial council elections by the leaders of the National People’s Power (NPP), the coalition that has been formed by the JVP and the repeated demands by the Opposition political parties on the same.

The veteran politician had cited two reasons as obstacles to the elections as promised. He stated that despite the government having allocated funds for the provincial council elections from the last budget, the government had to spend Rs. 500 billion for the recovery and rebuilding efforts following the disastrous Cyclone Ditwah that swept the country in late November last year.

He said that another hurdle standing in the way of elections was a legal snag that has been created in 2017 by the United National Party (UNP) which was the main entity among the two ruling parties then.

Silva does not bear any responsible position in the government, nor is he a member of the officialdom to make decisions on any election, or so the Opposition parties’ argument goes. True — yet he was not deciding anything, but announcing something that has apparently been already decided by the ruling party. On the other hand, ruling parties are the ones mandated by the people to rule the country, in accordance with the policies of that party. Hence, if the NPP has concluded that the provincial elections would not be held next year, Silva as a senior leader of the NPP announcing that decision is not inappropriate.

However, his statement on the matter does not bear any legal value, as he is not authorised to make election related announcements officially. In that sense, much like statements made by any other politician, it is just political rhetoric – a common occurrence in Sri Lanka.

However, Silva is the General Secretary of the JVP, the driving force of the ruling NPP. General Secretaries of many Marxist parties or parties that claim to be Marxist in the world have been the leaders of those parties. The JVP is an exception. Its general secretary has never been the party leader except for the founder leader Rohana Wijeweera, who held both the positions of leader and general secretary during the initial years of the party. Nevertheless, since other general secretaries of the JVP were also historically powerful figures and de-facto second-in-command, Silva’s statement carries significant political weight.

It is very unlikely that the people in the country might accept the reasons the JVP General Secretary cited for the deferral of provincial elections. The funds for the election was allocated, as Silva claims, by the 2026 budget which was passed in Parliament on December 5, last year, while the Rs. 500 billion allocation for Ditwah recovery was made through a separate supplementary estimate approved by Parliament on December 19. Budget allocations were not supposed to be affected by Ditwah recovery efforts.

Besides, it is said that provincial council elections would cost only about Rs. 10 billion, one fiftieth of the amount supposed to be spent on Ditwah recovery and rebuilding. It shows that financial constraints are not an issue hindering the elections.

The NPP in its 2024 election manifesto titled “A thriving Nation, a Beautiful Life” pledged that “Provincial councils and local government elections, which are currently postponed indefinitely, will be held within a year to provide an opportunity for the people to join the governance.” The promise was made knowing well that the Presidential and Parliamentary elections would have to precede provincial and local government elections. But the pledge in the manifesto was not materialised.

Cabinet spokesman and Media Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa told the media on April 1, last year that provincial council elections have to be postponed due to legal issues and financial constraints in the face of three island wide elections having been already held within eight months. Now, Tilvin Silva is parroting the same. However, Minister Jayatissa, in a damage control move, had later on Tuesday told that funding the election is not an issue.

The 11-member Parliamentary select committee appointed to resolve legal snags is the government’s only defence against accusations regarding the delayed PC elections. Yet, it must be noted that the committee was appointed only in February, this year, ten months after Dr. Jayatissa’s above statement and 15 months after the NPP government assumed office.

It was the United National Party (UNP) led government that created this legal muddle in 2017, intentionally to evade provincial council elections. They introduced the mixed electoral system for provincial councils and presented a flawed delimitation report under it in Parliament. The House rejected it, interestingly with even Minister Faiszer Mustapha who presented it hilariously voting against it.

PC elections a non-event

Although the law required the Prime Minister to submit a review report in Parliament within two months, the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe never heeded it, forcing the PC elections to be a nonevent indefinitely. The UNP did so in fear of defeat. The current Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) cannot absolve themselves from this undemocratic step as it is an offshoot of that very ruling party, the UNP.

Then, Ilankai Thamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) Parliamentarian M.A.Sumanthiran presented a private member’s Bill to conduct PC elections under the old Proportional Representation (PR) system in 2023. Wickremesinghe, this time as the President, and his Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) dominated government ignored it, despite it having been sanctioned by the Supreme Court.

Ludicrously, these are the parties that put pressure now on the NPP government to hold the PC elections.

The NPP seems to be dragging its feet in respect of PC elections for fear of defeat or a less impactful victory. The party seems to be of the view that any result – victory or defeat – would be a trend-setter at the next Presidential and Parliamentary elections which would most probably be the case.

Irrespective of its failures in many issues, the NPP government is still ahead of previous governments in terms of governance. It has managed to maintain macroeconomic stability after the recent economic crisis. Almost all major revenue sources — exports, tourism, migrant remittances, Customs, Excise Department and Inland Revenue Department — are continuing to show remarkable progress. However, the Opposition parties seem to have won the day by way of portraying the government as a failed, inexperienced administration in such a negative way that even supporters of the government are bewildered.

Source:Daily Mirror.lk

For nearly seven years, the Provincial Council system has existed in a political limbo. The councils remain dissolved, elections remain postponed, and yet the machinery continues to consume hundreds of billions of rupees annually. Last week’s remarks in Jaffna by the General Secretary of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, stating that Provincial Council elections would not be held this year due to funds being redirected towards disaster relief, once again exposed the uncertainty and confusion surrounding the future of the Provincial Council system.

What makes the statement more troubling is not merely the postponement itself, but the casualness with which elections are discussed in this country. Timely elections are not optional in a democracy. To delay Provincial Council elections for more than a decade is a democratic failure. The last Provincial Council election was held in 2014. An entire generation of young voters has now reached adulthood without ever casting a ballot for a Provincial Council representative.

Yet, while elections must be held, the country must also confront an uncomfortable truth. We can no longer continue avoiding the larger debate about whether the Provincial Council system, in its current form, has actually served the purpose it was created for.

The Provincial Council system was born out of the Indo-Lanka Accord of 1987 and entrenched through the 13th Amendment to the Constitution. It was presented as the answer to ethnic tensions and as a mechanism to devolve power away from Colombo. Nearly four decades later, the results continue to remain questionable.

The central promise of devolution was that minority communities, particularly in the North and East, would gain meaningful control over local governance. That promise was never truly fulfilled. Successive Governments refused to fully devolve land and police powers. The Concurrent List became a convenient mechanism for the Centre to override provincial authority whenever it wished. Even those who once defended the system now admit that the Provincial Councils never evolved into genuinely autonomous institutions.

The Northern Provincial Council itself became symbolic of this failure. The North waited until 2013 for its first election under the post-war framework, 26 years after the 13th Amendment was introduced. The council completed one term and then disappeared into the political void. Reconciliation did not deepen. Trust between communities did not significantly improve. Ethnic grievances did not disappear.

Meanwhile, in the rest of the country, Provincial Councils increasingly became viewed as another expensive political layer added onto an already bloated State structure. Before the system collapsed into dormancy, the country was maintaining hundreds of councillors, ministers, official vehicles, staff, offices, and privileges. Many functions duplicated work already performed by Parliamentarians, ministries, municipal councils, and Pradeshiya Sabhas.

And now, despite the absence of elected politicians, the Provincial Council structure itself continues to operate. Schools still function under provincial administrations. Provincial hospitals still require funding. Public servants still receive salaries. Roads still need maintenance. The annual cost of sustaining the provincial administrative apparatus now exceeds Rs. 500 billion.

This is where the public frustration becomes understandable. The country is essentially funding a Provincial Council system without Provincial Councils. Governors appointed by the President now exercise powers that should belong to elected representatives. What was designed as a democratic mechanism for decentralisation has slowly transformed into a centrally controlled administrative utility.

The Government therefore faces a historic responsibility. With its commanding parliamentary majority, it has the political space to finally decide whether Sri Lanka intends to revive this system properly or replace it altogether. Continuing indefinitely in the current state is neither democratic nor financially defensible.

If elections are to be held, they must be held soon, and with clarity regarding the electoral framework. The endless excuses about delimitation processes and legal deadlocks have long exhausted public patience. Democracy cannot remain suspended because politicians lack the will to resolve procedural disputes.

However, if the Government genuinely believes the Provincial Council system has failed, then it must present an alternative vision honestly and courageously. It cannot simply allow the system to decay while politically benefiting from the ambiguity.

There is growing merit in the argument that genuine decentralisation should occur at grassroots level rather than through expensive provincial political structures. Strengthening Municipal Councils, Urban Councils, and Pradeshiya Sabhas may ultimately provide more direct and practical governance to ordinary citizens. Local authorities deal with daily realities. Waste collection, rural roads, drainage, markets, public health, and community services directly affect people’s lives far more than provincial political theatre.

But any attempt to move beyond the 13th Amendment must be approached carefully and consensually. Minority communities cannot be asked to simply abandon existing constitutional safeguards without credible guarantees of equality, representation, and regional participation in governance.

The Election Commission says it is ready to hold Provincial Council elections at any time, provided Parliament first puts in place the necessary legal framework to facilitate the polls.

The Commission made its position clear at a recent meeting of the Parliamentary Select Committee, which has been appointed to examine the electoral system under which Provincial Council elections should be held and to present its recommendations to Parliament.

The Attorney General’s Department has also submitted its observations to the Committee, outlining the existing legal impediments that stand in the way of holding the elections and the measures that would be required to address them.

Both the Election Commission and the Attorney General’s Department had been asked to provide their input to the Select Committee as part of its consultations on the matter.

The meeting was held in Parliament under the chairmanship of Minister Vijitha Herath.

Deputy Ministers Arun Hemachandra, Sunil Watagala and Muneer Mulafer attended, along with Members of Parliament Mano Ganesan, Shanakiyan Rasamanickam, Darmapriya Wijesinghe, Samanmalee Gunasinghe and Lakshman Nipunarachchi.

Contradicting JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva’s recent statements, Cabinet Spokesman and Minister Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa yesterday said financial provisions had already been allocated for the conduct of Provincial Council elections, rejecting claims that the polls could not be held this year due to funding constraints.

Speaking at the post-Cabinet media briefing, Dr. Jayatissa said the primary obstacle to holding the elections was the unresolved legal framework governing the Provincial Council electoral system.

He was responding to a question raised by a journalist regarding recent comments by JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva on the timing of the elections.

Dr. Jayatissa said a Parliamentary Committee was currently engaged in resolving the relevant legal issues and discussions were continuing on the matter.

He said the Government would be in a position to conduct the Provincial Council elections once the required legal provisions were finalised.

“This Government has already conducted two elections within eight months. Our expectation is to hold the Provincial Council election while safeguarding the people’s sovereignty in accordance with the Constitution,” he said.

The Minister also noted that even if financial allocations had not been made initially, funds could still be provided through a supplementary estimate if required.

On Sunday, Tilvin Silva said the Government expects to hold the long-delayed Provincial Council (PC) Elections next year, provided no further major disruptions emerge.

Speaking at the opening of the National People’s Power (NPP) Jaffna District office, Silva said the Government had originally allocated funds in the latest Budget to conduct the PC polls this year.

However, he said the Government was compelled to redirect nearly Rs. 500 billion towards disaster relief and recovery measures following the Cyclone Ditwah disaster.

Silva also pointed to unresolved legal complications surrounding the PC electoral system, claiming that amendments introduced during the tenure of former President Ranil Wickremesinghe had created uncertainty regarding the legal framework under which the elections should be conducted.

According to Silva, a Parliamentary Committee has now been appointed to examine the matter and recommend the appropriate legal basis for holding the polls.

“If no other major issues arise, we believe it may be possible to hold the PC Elections by next year,” Silva said.

PC Elections in Sri Lanka have remained postponed for several years due to disputes over the electoral system and delays in introducing the required legal and administrative reforms.