More than 45 Provincial Council seats fall vacant next week when Provincial Councillors leave their respective PCs to enter Parliament. The majority of the PC members are from the Western and Southern Provinces, while the others are from the Sabaragamuwa, Uva, Eastern, North-Western and North Central provinces.
In Colombo district, United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) candidates Duminda Silva, who obtained 146,336 votes, and Thilanga Sumathipala, with 60,848 votes, will be entering Parliament, and their Western Provincial Council seats will be taken by Lionel Kariyawasam and Dayankantha Perera, based on votes collected at the Western Provincial Council elections. Four United National Party (UNP) candidates will be entering Parliament: Western Provincial Council opposition leader Rosy Senananyake, who collected 66,357 votes; Mohan Lal Grero, 68,008 votes, Sujeewa Senasinghe, 52,559 votes, and Prabha Ganeshan, 42,851 votes. Their four Western PC seats they are vacating will be taken by Senaka Damayantha Silva, Shiral Lakthilake, Sagara Senaratne and Lakshman Abeygunaratne.
In the Gampaha district, Siri Kamal de Silva will take the seat vacated by United National Front (UNF) candidate and Provincial Council member Ruwan Wijewardene, who topped the UNF preferential list with 88,850 votes.
In the Kegalle district, UPFA candidate and Sabaragamuwa PC member Y. P. Padmasiri obtained 61,582 votes.
In Kalutara district, Western PC members and UPFA candidates Reginald Coorey, 60,196 votes, and Vidura Wickremanayake, 50,114 votes, have secured their seats in Parliament. Vidura Wickremanayake is the son of Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake. Lal Kularatne and Ven. Thebuwana Piyananda Thera will replace them in the Kalutara PC.
Kalutara district UNP candidates Palitha Thewarapperuma, who collected the highest number of UNP preference votes, 51,153, and UNP candidate Ajith Perera, 48,588 votes, will be replaced in the Western PC by Ameer Mohommed Yusuf and Vijith Priyantha de Silva.
In the Galle district, Southern Provincial Councillors and UPFA candidates Nishantha Muthuhettigama collected 124,368 votes, Sajin Vaas Gunawardene, 53,620 votes, and Southern PC chairman Mohan P. de Silva, 48,756 votes. Their Southern PC seats will be taken by Channa Jaliya de Silva, chairman of the Imadoowa Pradeshiya Sabha, K. D. Jayaweera, and Yakkalamulla Pradeshiya Sabha chairman, Sisira Kumarasiri.
Opposition Southern PC candidate Manusha Nanayakkara’s seat will be filled by Jayantha Jayaweera.
In the Matara district, the two seats vacated by UPFA candidates and Southern Provincial Council (SPC) members Wijeya Dahanayake, 44,463 votes, and Hemal Gunasekare, 51,013 votes, will be filled by former Deputy Inspector General (DIG) E. W. Prathapasinghe and Danny Abeywickrema.
Matara district UNF candidate and Southern PC opposition leader Buddhika Pathirana, 62,499 votes, will be replaced in the Southern PC by Chandana Priyantha.
In the Hambantota district, Gunasoma Wickremasinghe will take the PC seat vacated by UPFA candidate and Provincial Councillor V. K. Indika, 37,626 votes.
In the Matale district, the PC seat vacated by Central Provincial Councillor and UPFA candidate Nandimitra Ekanayake will be filled by Dhammika Angammana. The PC seat vacated by Matale District UNP candidate Wasantha Aluvihare, 31, 529 votes, will be taken by A. H. M. Brahim.
In the Badulla district, the PC seat vacated by UPFA candidate and PC chairman Rohana Pushpakumara, 36,080 votes, will be filled by Ajith Liyanage. The PC seat vacated by UNP Member of Parliament Harin Fernando, 49,073 votes, will be taken by Viswanath Kulathunge. Harin Fernando collected the highest number of UNP preference votes.
In the Ratnapura district, three UPFA candidates – Ranjith de Soyza, Janaka Wakkumbura and Sunny Rohana Kodituwakku – will be replaced by Upali Weerasinghe, K .M. D. Indrapriya and former Kuruwita Pradeshiya Sabha chairman. Salitha Karunaratne. Actor and Sabaragamuwa PC opposition leader Ranjan Ramanayake, 59,318 votes, will be replaced in the PC by Nimal Wijenaike.
In the Moneragala district, the Uva PC seat vacated by UPFA candidate Vijitha Berugoda, 43,001 votes, will be filled by Harindra Dharmadasa Bandara.
In Nuwara Eliya. R. S. Ponnai was nominated to take the PC seat vacated by Nuwara Eliya UPFA candidate V. S. Radhakrishnan, 54,083 votes. The Sunday Times understands, however, that Anusha Sivarajah, whose name appears towards the end of the preference votes list, may be appointed instead. UNP candidate Palani Alagan Digambaran, 39,490 votes, will be vacating his Central PC seat for G. M. M. Piyasiri.
In Anuradhapura district, Susil Gunaratne will take the PC seat vacated by UPFA candidate and North Central Provincial Councillor, S. C. Muthukumarana, 44,645 votes.
The Kalmunai mayor’s post will fall vacant when the present mayor, Mohommed Hariz, 44,755 votes, enters Parliament. Mr. Hariz is on the UNP list.
In the Kurunegala district, UPFA candidates Shantha Bandara, 86,353 votes, and Neranjan Wickremesinghe, 54,572 votes, will vacate their North Western PC seats for Ananda Chandralal and Dharmasiri Ratnayake.
In the Puttalam district, UPFA candidates Arundika Fernando, 55,889 votes, and Victor Anthony Perera, 35,259, will vacate their North Western PC seats for Mohommed Riza and Chinthaka Mayadunne. Manjula C. R. Bandara will replace UNP candidate and North Western PC member Nimal Senerath Wijesinghe, 30,687 votes.Zawahir Sally will take the Eastern PC seat vacated by M. Hisbullah. |
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