Sri Lanka delays provincial council polls as funds diverted to Cyclone Ditwah recovery

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake later said the election would be held this year.A parliamentary select committee is currently examining the legal amendment required to hold the provincial election.The provincial council system came as the thirteenth amendment to the constitution at Indias initiative.New Delhi proposed province-based devolution in terms of the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord of 1987 under the then Indian prime minister, late Rajiv Gandhi.

The provincial council elections in Sri Lanka will not be held this year, as funds earmarked for the polls were diverted to Cyclone Ditwah reconstruction efforts, a top leader said on Sunday.

The long-delayed elections to Sri Lanka's nine provincial councils have been postponed since 2018 due to a legal snag with attempted electoral reform that year. All nine councils remain defunct right now.

''We had to make Sri Lankan Rupees (LKR) 500 billion available for Ditwah recovery from the monies meant for elections,'' said Tilvin Silva, the general secretary of the ruling front's dominant Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party.

Cyclone Ditwah caused widespread destruction across the island nation in November last year, leaving around 650 people dead and nearly 200 others missing. The total economic loss from Ditwah was estimated to be between USD 6 billion and 7 billion, roughly 3-5 per cent of Sri Lanka's GDP.

Talking to reporters, Silva said that Ditwah and ''other issues'' being faced by the government will make it impossible to hold the election.

''We can hold the election by next year,'' he said.

The ruling party's election manifesto pledged to hold the election by 2025. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake later said the election would be held this year.

A parliamentary select committee is currently examining the legal amendment required to hold the provincial election.

The provincial council system came as the thirteenth amendment to the constitution at India's initiative.

New Delhi proposed province-based devolution in terms of the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord of 1987 under the then Indian prime minister, late Rajiv Gandhi. It provides for the devolution of power to the minority Tamil community in Sri Lanka.

India has been advocating for early holding of the elections for all nine provinces, including during a visit to Delhi by Dissanayake.