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Local councils should be able to act independently as in other countries, says Election Com Gen
View(s):- Political parties and EC express views on the MMPR system
By Ishu Bandara
While the opposition stated that they are satisfied with the Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMPR) system combining both ward based and proportional representation methods as it offers them more advantage, Election Commissioner General Saman Sri Ratnayake told the Sunday Times that it is time for all elected members to work together irrespective of party affiliations to improve each council as is done in other countries.
“In theory, local councils in Sri Lanka are intended to function independently and serve their local constituencies regardless of which party is in power nationally. But in practice, they are often influenced directly or indirectly by the ruling party at the central or provincial level,” Mr.Ratnayake said.
He said that these Councils have their own budgets, powers, and decision making processes, and councillors are elected by the people. ‘They can represent any political party or be independent and they should be able to serve their councils independently, just as it happens in other countries,” Mr. Ratnayake said.
He added that local councils are elected bodies with legal independence under the 13th Amendment, and the Municipal Councils Ordinance, Urban Councils Ordinance, and Pradeshiya Sabha Act.
However, despite the independence given by the law, he said that in Sri Lanka, most councils rely heavily on central government grants for salaries, infrastructure, and development and these funds are often controlled or influenced by ministries under the ruling party. “Councils that try to align with the ruling party may receive funds faster or gain approval for more projects,” he said.
After several attempts to contact the General Secretary of the National People’s Power (NPP), Nihal Abeysinghe, a member of the NPP’s National Executive Committee told the Sunday Times yesterday morning that they are holding meetings across all districts, with both the President and the Prime Minister expected to participate in the majority of them.
“After May Day, the people realised that we are their only hope, as there is no real opposition at this time they are fragmented and divided. We are expecting a clear victory. The opposition assumes that after the election they can come together and form councils, but that is very unlikely. We are confident of securing nearly 60% of the vote, so the opposition’s intentions won’t pose any problem for us,” Mr. Abeysinghe said.
Sandun Yapa Karunaratne, a member of the National Executive Committee of the NPP, told the Sunday Times yesterday “While we are confident of securing a majority, we are neither overestimating or underestimating the outcome. We are continuing our campaign efforts with the same intensity as before, aiming to increase our share of votes beyond what we anticipate in the final results.”
“As there are some shortcomings in the current 60%-40% MMPR system in Sri Lanka, where even the winning party in a council sometimes cannot function smoothly without interruptions, my personal opinion is that this system should be changed,” Mr. Karunaratne said.
While the ruling party appears more inclined to change the current system, the opposition maintains that it is fair and has expressed their willingness to continue with it in the upcoming elections.
Mujibur Rahman, Deputy General Secretary of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), told the Sunday Times that the election system is more favourable to the opposition than to the government. “We believe the government got scared, that’s why the Prime Minister and the President went all over the place. We even saw the Prime Minister attending small gatherings, like group meetings with just 25 to 50 voters.”
The SLPP General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam said yesterday that several main rallies were held in Gampaha, and all the senior party members were present there along with the leader Namal Rajapaksa.
Mr. Kariyawasam criticised the NPP government for implementing projects that they had previously rejected and opposed, such as the Sampur Power Project, the Port City development, the Hambantota oil refinery, and the Uma Oya project.
The General Secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), Lasantha Alagiyawanna, told the Sunday Times they are focusing on ward level campaigning. He also stated, “There is no 100% perfect voting system anywhere in the world. We are satisfied with this system, and we hope to join with a suitable party and extend our support to them.”
As more opposition parties have expressed favorable views on the Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMPR) system, which combines both ward based and proportional representation methods to select members for the 2025 Sri Lankan local government elections both Election Commission Chairman R.M.A.L. Rathnayake and Election Commission General Saman Sri Ratnayake shared their insights with the Sunday Times regarding the system and voting procedures.
Chairman R.M.A.L. Rathnayake explained that ballot papers include the names of political parties and independent groups only, and voters must mark their preference next to their chosen party or group. Counting takes place within the same polling center in each division, and the winners are announced at the divisional result center. The results are then sent to the district result preparation center, where the final allocation of seats is calculated using the Mixed Member Proportional Representation (MMPR) system both through a computerised formula and a manual method for verification.
If a party secures over 50% of the total votes, it will be allowed to appoint the President and Vice President of the respective local council, under the oversight of the Election Commission.
Mr. Rathnayake emphasised that since vote counting is done within the same division and not transported elsewhere, the process is expected to take less time. He also stressed that only two agents from each party are permitted inside the centers both during the voting period and the counting process.
Explaining how proportional seats are calculated under the MMPR system, Election Commission General Saman Sri Rathnayake said “According to the MMPR system, the total number of valid votes is divided by the total number of seats to determine the average number of votes required per seat. Each party’s total votes are then divided by this average to calculate how many seats they are entitled to. From this entitlement, the number of ward seats already won is subtracted to determine the number of proportional seats allocated.”
He further added, “If a party wins a majority of the ward seats than its proportional entitlement, the extra seats are retained as overhang seats, which increases the total number of council members.”
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