Imminent Revocation of the 5 Municipal Councils

A significant overhaul is on the horizon for local authorities, with imminent plans to revoke municipal councils ahead of the upcoming municipal elections scheduled for 2025. This election is expected to take place within the first six months of that year, and a formal decision regarding the revocation of the councils is anticipated by the end of this week.

In the interim, the government is considering appointing administrative commissioners to oversee local affairs until the elections are held.

The responsibility for identifying these commissioners has been delegated to the relevant ministers, who have been instructed to complete this task within 72 hours.

These elections have faced multiple delays under the previous MSM government, which attributed the postponements to the COVID-19 pandemic and ongoing reforms in local governance.

Currently, the five municipal councils are in a precarious financial position, teetering on the brink of insolvency.

The last municipal elections were conducted in 2015.

Over the past nearly ten years, the terms of the councilors have been extended multiple times, initially due to the pandemic.

The most recent delay, which was the third, stemmed from an amendment to the Local Government Act that was linked to ongoing reforms.

This postponement sparked significant backlash, leading opposition members to challenge the decision in the Supreme Court.

As the government is preparing for the upcoming elections, the appointment of administrative commissioners is seen as a necessary measure to manage day-to-day operations within the councils.

This move mirrors historical practices from the 1970s when similar solutions were employed to temporarily govern municipalities.

The financial health of the councils is alarming, as the five major municipalities currently rely on external financial support.

Their operational expenditures, coupled with inadequate resources, have pushed them into a deficit situation.

Furthermore, it is noteworthy that just before the last legislative elections, under the previous MSM regime, local authorities—including municipalities and district councils—approved a budget of Rs 80,000 to be spent weekly on various activities during the electoral campaign in their respective areas.

Source: Defi Media