The attention of the government has been squarely focused on submitting a proposal to the parliament aimed at canceling the nominations for the upcoming local government elections, informed government sources said.

This matter was extensively deliberated during the advisory committee meeting of the Ministry of Public Administration, Home Affairs, Provincial Councils, and Local Government. The meeting, which took place last Tuesday (06), was presided over by Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena and saw the active participation of representatives from various political parties.

With no signs of the local government election currently in sight, the prevailing sentiment among both government and opposition ministers in the advisory committee is that it would be prudent to nullify the existing nominations and initiate the election process anew once nominations are called once again.

In light of this consensus, political party representatives have collectively decided to introduce a bill in parliament, seeking the cancellation of the nominations for the local government election.

The nominations for the selection of 8,711 candidates across 340 local government bodies were officially announced last April. Surprisingly, a staggering total of 80,672 candidates came forward to contest the elections. These individuals are vying for positions in 24 municipal councils, 41 city councils, and 275 regional councils.