Sri Lanka to hold elections for local councils in March

COLOMBO, Jan. 21 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lanka's national election commission on Saturday announced that local council polls will be held on March 9.

Foreign tourists walk past Sri Lankan President's office in Colombo on January 20, 2023. (Photo: AFP)

The commission said that all the main political parties had submitted nominations by the close of the deadline on Saturday afternoon. Accordingly, the commission fixed the date to hold the elections to pick new mayors and local council members for all the districts in Sri Lanka.

President Ranil Wickremesinghe's United National Party and former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna have joined hands for the first time to contest the March elections.

Their main battle will be with the opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya led by Sajith Premadasa. A number of smaller political parties have also formed alliances for the elections.