All Arrangements Finalized For The 2025 Local Government Elections

COLOMBO (News 1st): All arrangements have been finalized for the 2025 Local Government Elections.

The election, which will be held to elect 8,287 members to 339 local government bodies, will begin tomorrow at 7 a.m.

Polling will conclude at 4 p.m.

Although nominations for the election were accepted back in 2023, the polls were postponed due to the then former government's failure to allocate necessary funds to conduct the elections.

The 2025 Local Government Elections will be held for all local government bodies except for the Kalmunai Municipal Council, Dehiattakandiya Pradeshiya Sabha, Mannar Pradeshiya Sabha, Poonakary Pradeshiya Sabha in Kilinochchi, and the Elpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha.

A total of 8,287 members will be elected to 339 local bodies, which include 28 Municipal Councils, 36 Urban Councils, and 272 Pradeshiya Sabhas.

A total of 17,296,330 voters will be eligible to cast their votes at the 2025 Local Government Elections, an increase of 155,976 compared to last year's presidential and parliamentary elections.

Polling will take place at 13,759 polling centers across the country.

A total of 75,589 candidates will contest the 2025 Local Government Election, representing 49 recognized political parties and 257 independent groups.

How will the Local Government Election be conducted?

The 2025 Local Government election will be held under a mixed - member proportional representation system.

In the Mixed-Member Proportional Representation System, representatives are elected both from individual wards and through a proportional representation list.

Accordingly, 60% of representatives will be elected from wards, while the remaining 40% will be selected based on the proportion of votes each party or group receives.

How are members elected from your vote?

If a political party or independent group secures more than 50% of the total seats in a local authority, the party secretary or group leader has the power to appoint the Mayor or Chairman of that council.

In single-member wards, the candidate who secures the highest number of votes is elected as the representative.

In multi-member wards, the two or three candidates with the highest votes from the winning party or group are appointed as members.

How are the proportional seats calculated?

First, the total number of valid votes in a local authority is divided by the total number of seats to determine the electoral quotient.

Then, each party or group’s total votes are divided by this quotient to determine how many proportional seats they are entitled to.

From that total, the number of seats already secured through wards is subtracted. The remaining seats are then allocated under the proportional representation system.