Batticaloa Municipal Council
Encyclopedia
Batticaloa Municipal Council (BMC) is the local authority
for the city of Batticaloa
in eastern Sri Lanka
. BMC is responsible for providing a variety of local public services including roads, sanitation, drains, housing, libraries, public parks and recreational facilities. It has 19 members elected using the open list
proportional representation system. The territory of BMC is commensurate with that of Manmunai North Divisional Secretariat
.
The council was dissolved in 1974 and administered by special commissioners until 1983 when local elections were held. All members of the council resigned shortly after the election. Batticaloa was once again administered by special commissioners, this time until 1994 when local elections were held. In 1988 BMC absorbed Valaieravu Rural Council. The council was dissolved on 31 March 1999. Special commissioners administered the city until 2008 when elections were held.
All members of the council resigned one month after being sworn in. Batticaloa didn't have an elected local government for sporadic periods, this was due to various reasons. Aljazeera, the Asiafoundation and the Daily Mirror attribute this to civil war
; Reuters
and the US State Department attribute this to calls for election boycotts by the LTTE (enforced with brutal reprisals for non compliance) and the Tamilnet
attribute it to The Sri Lankan government's suspension of all local government in the north
and east
of the country in 1983 using Emergency Regulations. Batticaloa was administered by special commissioners until 1994 when local elections were held. The council was dissolved on 31 March 1999. Special commissioners administered the city until the 2008 elections.
The following candidates were elected:
Sivageetha "Pathmini" Prabhakaran (UPFA-TMVP), 4,722 preference votes (pv); Sellappillai "Chelliah" Aseerwatham (Ind 1), 949 pv; Kandiah Arumailingam (Ind 1-EPDP); Edwin Silva Krishnanandaraja alias Piratheep Master (UPFA-TMVP), 3,805 pv; John Baptist Fernando (UPFA); Abiragam George Pillai (UPFA); Namasivayam Karunanantham (UPFA); Thambiaiah Kirubarajah (UPFA); Maylvakanam Niskanandararajah (Ind 1); Rajanathan Prabhakaran (EROS); Wellington Rajendra Prasad (UPFA); Kanagasabai Preman (UPFA); Nagoor Khan Ramlan (SLMC); Pragasam Sagayamany alias Killi Master (UPFA-TMVP); Devanayagam Weerasingam Sathyananthan (UPFA); Mahendiramoorthy Suthenthiran (Ind 1); Kandasamy Thavarasa (UPFA); Benadit Thanabalasingam (Ind 1); and Irasaiah Thurairaththinam (Ind 1).
Sivageetha Prabhakaran (UPFA-TMVP) and Edwin Silva Krishnanandaraja (UPFA-TMVP) were appointed Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively.
Edwin Silva Krishnanandaraja of UPFA-TMVP resigned as a member of BMC and was replaced by Selvarasa Sasikumar. He was replaced as Deputy Mayor by Abiragam George Pillai (UPFA).
Irasaiah Thurairaththinam (Ind 1) resigned to contest the Eastern provincial council elections
. He was replaced by Kandasamy Mahenthiraraja (Ind 1).
Local government in Sri Lanka
Local government is the third and lowest level of government in Sri Lanka - after the central government and provincial councils. The local government bodies are collectively known as local authorities. They are responsible for providing a variety of local public services including roads,...
for the city of Batticaloa
Batticaloa
Batticaloa is a city in the Eastern province of Sri Lanka. It is the seat of the Eastern University of Sri Lanka. It is on the east coast, south by south east of Trincomalee, and is situated on an island.-Etymology:...
in eastern Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
. BMC is responsible for providing a variety of local public services including roads, sanitation, drains, housing, libraries, public parks and recreational facilities. It has 19 members elected using the open list
Open list
Open list describes any variant of party-list proportional representation where voters have at least some influence on the order in which a party's candidates are elected...
proportional representation system. The territory of BMC is commensurate with that of Manmunai North Divisional Secretariat
Manmunai North Divisional Secretariat
Manmunai North Divisional Secretariat is a Divisional Secretariat of Batticaloa District, of Eastern Province, Sri Lanka.-References:*...
.
History
Batticaloa was administered by a local board between 1884 and 1932. The city was promoted to an Urban Council with eight wards in 1933. The number of wards was increased to 10 in 1944. In 1956 the territory of the council was increased as well as the number of wards to 14. The council was merged with Manmunai North – East (Northern Portion) Village Council in 1967 and promoted to a Municipal Council. BMC had 19 wards. The first mayor of BMC was Chelliah Rajadurai, the local Member of Parliament.The council was dissolved in 1974 and administered by special commissioners until 1983 when local elections were held. All members of the council resigned shortly after the election. Batticaloa was once again administered by special commissioners, this time until 1994 when local elections were held. In 1988 BMC absorbed Valaieravu Rural Council. The council was dissolved on 31 March 1999. Special commissioners administered the city until 2008 when elections were held.
Chairmen
- 1935 G. N. Tisseveresinghe
- 1936-38 M. Chinnaiyah
- 1939-41 N. S. Rasiah
- 1942-44 S. A. Selvanayagam
- 1945-47 K. V. M. Subramaniam
- 1951-53 J. L. Tisseveresinghe
- 1954-56 D. Velupillai
Mayors
- 1967-68 Chelliah Rajadurai
- 1968-70 J. L. Tisseveresinghe
- 1971-73 K. Thiyagarajah
- 1983 E. Ambalavanar
- 1994-99 Chilyan Perinpanayagam
- 2008- Sivageetha Prabhakaran
Commissioners and secretaries
The following were some of the city's commissioners and secretaries:Commissioners
- 1967-70 J. J. C. Tambinayagam
- 1988-89 M. Sinniah (acting)
- 1989-91 K. Karthigesu (acting)
- 1994-96 P. Kanapathipillai
- 1996-06 S. Navaneethan
- 2006-09 M. Uthayakumar
- 2009- K. Sivanathan
1983 local government election
Results of the local government election held on 18 May 1983:| Alliances and parties | |% | |Seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Tamil United Liberation Front Tamil United Liberation Front The Tamil United Liberation Front is a political party in Sri Lanka which seeks independence for the Tamil-populated areas of Sri Lanka.-Formation:... |
10,993 | 62.75% | 13 | |
| United National Party United National Party The United National Party, often referred to as the UNP ), , is a political party in Sri Lanka. It currently is the main opposition party in Sri Lanka and is headed by Ranil Wickremesinghe... |
6,229 | 35.55% | 6 | |
| Independent Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
298 | 1.70% | 0 | |
| Valid Votes | 17,520 | 100.00% | 19 | |
| Rejected Votes | 62 | |||
| Total Polled | 17,582 | |||
| Registered Electors | 22,894 | |||
| Turnout | 76.80% | |||
All members of the council resigned one month after being sworn in. Batticaloa didn't have an elected local government for sporadic periods, this was due to various reasons. Aljazeera, the Asiafoundation and the Daily Mirror attribute this to civil war
Sri Lankan civil war
The Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...
; Reuters
Reuters
Reuters is a news agency headquartered in New York City. Until 2008 the Reuters news agency formed part of a British independent company, Reuters Group plc, which was also a provider of financial market data...
and the US State Department attribute this to calls for election boycotts by the LTTE (enforced with brutal reprisals for non compliance) and the Tamilnet
Tamilnet
TamilNet is a news website that provides news and feature articles on current affairs in Sri Lanka, specifically related to the erstwhile Sri Lankan Civil War...
attribute it to The Sri Lankan government's suspension of all local government in the north
Northern Province, Sri Lanka
The Northern Province is one of the 9 provinces of Sri Lanka. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but did not have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was...
and east
Eastern Province, Sri Lanka
The Eastern Province is one of the 9 provinces of Sri Lanka. The provinces have existed since the 19th century but they didn't have any legal status until 1987 when the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils. Between 1988 and 2006 the province was...
of the country in 1983 using Emergency Regulations. Batticaloa was administered by special commissioners until 1994 when local elections were held. The council was dissolved on 31 March 1999. Special commissioners administered the city until the 2008 elections.
2008 local government election
Results of the local government election held on 10 March 2008:| Alliances and parties | |% | |Seats | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United People's Freedom Alliance United People's Freedom Alliance The United People's Freedom Alliance is a political alliance in Sri Lanka. The current leader of the United People's Freedom Alliance is Mahinda Rajapaksa and Susil Premajayantha is the general secretary of UPFA.The alliance was formed by:... (TMVP et al.) |
14,158 | 53.77% | 11 | |
| Independent 1 Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... (EPDP Eelam People's Democratic Party The Eelam People's Democratic Party is a political party and a pro-government paramilitary organization in Sri Lanka. It is led by its founder Douglas Devananda.-Background:... , EPRLF (P) Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front The Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front is a Sri Lankan political party and a former militant separatist group.-Militant separatists:The EPRLF was formed in 1980 by K... , PLOTE People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam The People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam is a former Tamil militant group. It is currently a pro-government paramilitary group and political party. PLOTE's political wing is known as the Democratic People's Liberation Front.-Origins:... ) |
9,601 | 36.46% | 6 | |
| Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Sri Lanka Muslim Congress The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress is a political party in Sri Lanka. The party was formed at a meeting held at Kattankudy in 1981 by a small study group of local Eastern Province political leaders.... |
1,788 | 6.79% | 1 | |
| Eelavar Democratic Front (EROS Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students The Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students , also known as the Eelam Revolutionary Organisers, is a former Tamil militant group in Sri Lanka. Most of the EROS membership was absorbed into the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in 1990. The rump, which continues to use the EROS name, has... ) |
427 | 1.62% | 1 | |
| National Development Front | 291 | 1.11% | 0 | |
| Independent 3 Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
43 | 0.16% | 0 | |
| Independent 2 Independent (politician) In politics, an independent or non-party politician is an individual not affiliated to any political party. Independents may hold a centrist viewpoint between those of major political parties, a viewpoint more extreme than any major party, or they may have a viewpoint based on issues that they do... |
23 | 0.09% | 0 | |
| Valid Votes | 26,331 | 100.00% | 19 | |
| Rejected Votes | 2,822 | |||
| Total Polled | 29,153 | |||
| Registered Electors | 54,948 | |||
| Turnout | 53.06% | |||
The following candidates were elected:
Sivageetha "Pathmini" Prabhakaran (UPFA-TMVP), 4,722 preference votes (pv); Sellappillai "Chelliah" Aseerwatham (Ind 1), 949 pv; Kandiah Arumailingam (Ind 1-EPDP); Edwin Silva Krishnanandaraja alias Piratheep Master (UPFA-TMVP), 3,805 pv; John Baptist Fernando (UPFA); Abiragam George Pillai (UPFA); Namasivayam Karunanantham (UPFA); Thambiaiah Kirubarajah (UPFA); Maylvakanam Niskanandararajah (Ind 1); Rajanathan Prabhakaran (EROS); Wellington Rajendra Prasad (UPFA); Kanagasabai Preman (UPFA); Nagoor Khan Ramlan (SLMC); Pragasam Sagayamany alias Killi Master (UPFA-TMVP); Devanayagam Weerasingam Sathyananthan (UPFA); Mahendiramoorthy Suthenthiran (Ind 1); Kandasamy Thavarasa (UPFA); Benadit Thanabalasingam (Ind 1); and Irasaiah Thurairaththinam (Ind 1).
Sivageetha Prabhakaran (UPFA-TMVP) and Edwin Silva Krishnanandaraja (UPFA-TMVP) were appointed Mayor and Deputy Mayor respectively.
Edwin Silva Krishnanandaraja of UPFA-TMVP resigned as a member of BMC and was replaced by Selvarasa Sasikumar. He was replaced as Deputy Mayor by Abiragam George Pillai (UPFA).
Irasaiah Thurairaththinam (Ind 1) resigned to contest the Eastern provincial council elections
Sri Lanka Provincial Council elections, 2008–2009
Sri Lanka has held several rounds of Provincial Council elections in 2008 and 2009 to elect members to eight of the country’s Provincial Councils. The decision to hold elections in different parts of the country on separate days was a break in the usual practice, which is to hold elections for the...
. He was replaced by Kandasamy Mahenthiraraja (Ind 1).