Thu Mar 20 11:11:01 UTC 2025: ## Sri Lanka to Hold Local Council Elections on May 6th
**Colombo, March 20, 2025** – Sri Lanka’s Election Commission announced today that local council elections will be held on May 6th, 2025. Over 17 million people are eligible to vote in the elections, which will determine the representatives for 340 councils across the island.
This election marks the first electoral test for the government of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, who came to power in late 2024. The previous local elections, held in 2018, were meant to have a four-year term, but were postponed multiple times due to the political turmoil caused by Sri Lanka’s 2022 economic crisis.
The delay sparked legal challenges, with the opposition accusing then-President Ranil Wickremesinghe of withholding funds from the Election Commission to prevent the elections from taking place. The Supreme Court ultimately ruled that the elections must be held promptly, citing a violation of voters’ fundamental rights. The current government subsequently amended the necessary laws, annulling previous nominations to pave the way for this May’s vote. The election is widely seen as an opportunity to address the country’s long-standing ethnic issues.
First Piper 