Things you need to know about the local government elections. 

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The Local Government Election which was scheduled to be held in March 2023 was postponed several times due to funding constraints, logistical challenges, and political resistance . After the Supreme Court in August 2024 ruled that the government had violated the fundamental rights of citizens by delaying the vote, new nominations were accepted for the local government elections between March 17 and 20, 2025.

Accordingly, it is scheduled to hold the local government elections on May 6th.

Who is elected in the local government election?

This year’s election, which will be held under the mixed member proportional representation, will elect 8,297 members to 339 local government institutions, including 28 Municipal Councils, 36 Urban Councils, and 275 Local Government Coucils (excluding Kalmuna Urban Council and Elpitiya Local Government Council).

What is Mixed- member proportional representation (MMPR)?

The mixed- member proportional representation system in the process of election members both from a divisional level and from a common register in a local government area. The Pradeshiya Sabha Amendment Act No. 22 of 2017 dated 12.10.2017 has determined that these amounts should be as follows.

Accordingly, at the divisional level, 60% and on a proportional basis, 40%.

How are the divisions and the number of seats for divisions in a local government area calculated?

The last Delimitation Commission, paying attention to the population, land area, and ethnic basis, has decided on the relevant divisions for all local government institutions in the island. These decisions have been published in Gazette Notifications No. 1928/26 dated 21.08.2015 and No. 2006/44 dated 17.02.2017.

Accordingly, there are two types of divisions into which local government institutions are divided:

• Single Wards
• Multi member Wards

The divisions and number of members allocated for all the local government institutions in the island are as follows.

How is the number of members elected on a proportional basis in a local governemnt area calculated?

In each local government institution, the number of elected members from the divisions will be considered as 60% and the remaining 40% will be selected on a proportional basis. The sum of the two is the total number of members of that local government body.

Ex-:

Local government council A 

Calculating 60% on a divisional basis

Single member Wards                     – 14

Multi members wards constituting of 2 members – 01

Total number of wards – 15

Single member Candidates – 14

Multiple member Candidates – 02

Total number of candidates – 16

Accordingly to the wards 60% – 16

Calculating 40% on proportional basis

Number of candidates on the basus if wards   x     40/60

=      16 x 40/60

=      10.66 ( Calculated the whole number without decimal points)

Accordingly on proportional basis 40% =10

Accordingly, the total number of members of the Local Government Council (16+10) = 26

How are the members elected under this electoral system?

In this regard, attention should be paid to 4 main areas when electing members.

• Decision on members on the ward basis
• Decision on members on the multiple wards basis
• Decision on members on the proportional basis
• Decision on women members

Ex-:

Let us assume that the above mentioned Local government council A consists of 14 single member wards and 1 multi- member ward consisting of two members, and 3 political parties X, Y, Z competed for the Local Government.

I. Selecting members on single member ward basis

After counting the votes in all the polling stations of a particular single war, the candidate nomimated by the party that receives the highest number of votes is elected as the member for that division.

In the above example, since Party X has won single wards 1, 2, 4, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 14 the candidates nominated by that party have been elected as members in those divisions. Since party Y has won Single wards 3,5, and 13, the candidates nominated by Party Y have been elected as members in those divisions.  Since Party Z has not won any single ward, no one will be elected for that party.

II. Selection of member in multi- member wards

The two or three candidates nominated by the political party or the independent group that receives the most votes at the multiple wards are elected as members of that multi member ward.

Accordingly, in the above example, since party X won the multiple division consisting of two members under number 15, the two candidates nominated by that party are elected as members of that multiple division.

III. Selection of members on the proportional basis

The total number of votes polled by all parties and groups are divided by the total number of members to be elected. The number resulting from such division is referred to as the qualifying number.

By Dividing the numbers of votes polled by each party and groups by this qualifying number, the numbers of members for each party and group are determined.

The numbers of members obtained by each party and group are deducted from the total numbers of members entitled to each party and group and the balance is the number of members to be selected from the proportional list..

If the balance of that party or group carries a minus value, that is, if the members elected on the ward basis exceed the numbers to be selected from the proportional list, then the number of members elected for the local authority is in excess.(Over Hang)

According to the above example, 

Total number of valid votes	57540
Number of members to be elected	26
Qualifying number	57540 / 26
	2213

IV. Selection of women members

Numbers of votes polled by the parties and groups which have obtained below 20% of the total valid number of votes and numbers of votes polled by these who have obtained 3 member or below are set aside. The balance number of votes is divided by the minimum number of women members entitled (a number of members equal to 25%). The numbers polled by political parties and groups is divided by this resulting number. This gives the numbers of women members for each party and group.

Ex-: According to the above example the percentage of votes obtained by each party and the number of seats allocated are as follows.

Accordingly, only the numbers of votes of “X” and “Y” parties are considered for women’s representation.

Total Number of Votes polled by X and Y parties ( 27938+23274)	51212
Number of member equal to 25% (26 / 4)	6.5
Qualifiying number  (51212 / 6.5)	7878.76
Number of women members to be appointed by X party (27938 / 7878.76)	3.5 = 3(Considering the integer)
Number of women members to be appointed by “Y” party (23274 / 7878.76)	2.95= 2 (Considering the integer)

Number of parties, groups and candidates who have given nominations for the election

• Number of political parties – 49
• Number of independent groups – 257
• Number of candidates- 75,589

How the Chairman/ Vice Chairman and May/ Deputy Mayor are elected.

If a political party or independent group has obtained more than 50% of the total number of members in the relevant local government body, the secretary of that political party or the leader of the relevant independent group may make appointments to these positions.

In case where no political party or independent group has obtained more than 50% of the members, appointment to these position are made through a voting of the members at the inaugural session of the local government.

Key Dates

Postal voting took place on 24, 25, 28 and 29 April 2025. The main election date is scheduled for 6th May 2025. Elected candidates are expected to take office by 2 June 2025.

Who can vote?

17.3 million citizens are eligible to vote in this election. Postal voting has been approved for over 648,000 government employees, including military and police officers, who are unable to vote in person on the election day.

Estimated cost

The 2025 local government elections are projected to cost about Rs. 11 billion. This budget will cover the logistics, security, personnel, and administrative support required for a nationwide election.

Monitoring and Supervision

The Election Commission of Sri Lanka is responsible for conducting the election. Independent organizations such as PAFFREL have deployed 160 long-term observers on election day, and plans are underway to deploy over 3,000 short-term observers. Special attention has also been paid to monitoring misinformation and harmful content on social media platforms, including content generated through artificial intelligence. Our team at Factcrescendo Sri Lanka will be working with the Election Commission to fact chcek false and misleading information circulating on social media ahead of the election and inform social media users with accurate information.

Why is this election important?

Local government authorities are responsible for critical services such as waste management, road maintenance, urban planning, public health and local economic development. In the absence of elected representatives, these institutions are run by administrative commissioners, limiting public accountability. These elections provide citizens with the opportunity to restore democratic governance at the grassroots level.

How to use yor vote correctly?

Only one ballot paper is issues to each voter and only the names and symbols of the contesting parties, and if independent groups are contesting, the term “Independent Group” and the identification number and symbol are printed on the ballot paper. Only one cross mark should be used to cast a vote. It is essential to refrain from marking, drawing, or writting any other marks on the ballot paper.

What identity documents you can present to cast your vote?

It is mandatory for all voters to carry one of the following identity documents when they go to their respective polling stations to cast their votes in the local government elections, and to present it to the polling station officials for verification.

The valid identity documents are, 

• • National Identity Card (old or new identity card) issued by the Department of Registration of Persons
• Valid passport
• Valid driver’s license
• Public Service Retirement Identity Card (old or new e-ID) issued by the Department of Pensions
• Adult Identity Card (issued by the Divisional Secretariat)
• National Identity Card information confirmation letter issued by the Department of Registration of Persons
• Temporary identity card issued by the Election Commission
• Temporary identity card issued by the Election Commission for persons with disabilities
• Temporary driving license with photo issued by the Department of Motor Traffic

This is how the public and private sectors will receive leave for local government elections

Those employed in the public and private sectors will be granted leave to vote in local government elections without a deduction of salary or personal leave..

For this purpose, the minimum leave period that should be granted depending on the distance from the workplace to the polling station is as follows.

However, the Election Commission has stated that in certain cases, if some voters require three days to travel to or from the polling station, three days leave should be granted as appropriate.

This is how school holidays are given for the local government elections.

Due to the local government elections to be held on May 6th, all schools in the island will be closed on May 5th and 6th.

Schools will reopen on May 7th.

Silence period

The period given to political parties and candidates contesting at the local government election to conduct campaigns ended at Midnight on 3rd.

According to the election law, all campaigning must end 48 hours before polling day.

Furthermore, all promotional offices, except for the media offices established at the local government level and the media offices established for each division, were dismantled and removed. The Election Commission also stated that all decorations, except for 60 square foor billboards, must be removed.

However, the video footages and the details of the final political campaign meetings held on 2025.05.03 will be broadcast on only one main news broadcast on each television/radio channel on 2025.05.04 and it is possible to publish photographs and reports of those meetings in the newsletters published on 04.05.2025.

Accordingly, the Election Commission has given the opportunity to publish videos and details of te final political campaign meeting held on 3rd on 04.05.2025 on social media affliated with each channel and newspapers, as well as all other social media.

The Election Commission also emphasized that when publishing the details of these final campaign meetings, space in newspapers and airtime on channels should be allocated equally so that all parties/groups and candidates have equal opportunities.

Furthermore, on 04.05.2025, when presenting the newspaper headlines of the day on all television channels, only the news headlines of the newspapers should be presented and the journalists presenting the program should not present any other ideas/suggestions related to the news or any ideas contrary to the news. Also, it has been informed to all print and electronic media channel heads, news department heads, news editors, editorial directors, editors-in-chief and all social media owners that after that date, i.e., on 05.05.2025 and 06.05.2025, no political propaganda news shall be presented in a manner that promotes or prejudices party groups/candidates, whether in the presentation of newspaper headlines or in any other manner. 

Source: Election Commission

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