- Sri Lanka parliament passed a bill to ensure the voting rights of the displaced people in the North.
- The legislature passed with amendment the Registration of Electors (Special Provisions) Bill tabled by the Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem in parliament earlier this month.
- The bill will allow the IDPs displaced from the North between May 1, 1983 and May 18, 2009 to register to vote if they have not been registered as voters in any other electoral district.
- Bill will allow some 20,000 people to vote in the upcoming provincial council elections in the Tamil-dominated north.
- The Supreme Court ruled that the special bill is consistent with the Constitution.
- President Mahinda Rajapaksa is expected to make the proclamation on the northern provincial council elections next week. The election may take place in early September.
Provinces of Srilanka
BACKGROUND:
- The Northern Province is one of the nine 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 Constitution of Sri Lanka established provincial councils.
- Between 1988 and 2006 the province was temporarily merged with the Eastern Province to form the North Eastern Province. The capital of the province is Jaffna.
- The Sri Lankan Civil War had its roots in this province. It is also known as Sri Lanka’s Tamil country.
- According to the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka, The Governor is the Constitutional head of the province while the Chief Minister is the head of the government and the head of the council of ministers.
- The Chief Justice of the High Court is the head of the judiciary.
- Provincial Government is not is functioning in Northern Province at present. It is ruled directly from the Central government. Governors are care taker of province. Most of the governors were retired army generals.
Recent Development ::
Amid a raging debate on the 13th Amendment to Sri Lanka’s constitution, a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) has been formed to study and suggest possible changes to the landmark amendment that created a provincial council system within the unitary state based on a 1987 agreement with India.