Vraie Cally Balthazaar has been elected as the Mayor of Colombo with 61 votes in an election held during the Colombo Municipal Council’s inaugural meeting yesterday (16th). The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) candidate, Reza Sarook, received only 54 votes.
This outcome comes despite the SJB presenting a list of 62 signatures purportedly supporting their candidate the day before. When they requested an open vote yesterday, they still only managed to secure 54 votes, indicating that eight signatories had voted against their stated intention.
The process of electing the mayor was contentious, with disagreements arising over whether to hold a secret or open ballot. The SJB and the United National Party (UNP) had requested an open vote, while the opposition threatened legal action against the Provincial Commissioner if a secret ballot was held.
Following her victory in what was ultimately a secret ballot, the newly elected Mayor Kylie Balthazar stated that all 117 council members should unite to develop Colombo.
Meanwhile, SJB representative Waruna Deeptha Rajapaksa alleged at a press conference that the Provincial Commissioner of Local Government, Sarangika Jayasundara, had not followed the guidelines of the Ministry of Public Administration in the mayoral election. He further claimed that key government ministers and deputy ministers held a secret discussion with state officials regarding this matter the previous day.
Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa also made a special statement yesterday, highlighting guidelines issued by the Ministry of Public Administration, Provincial Councils, and Local Government in 2025 concerning the election of chairpersons and deputy chairpersons in instances where no single party or independent group secures over 50% of the total membership in a local authority. He stated that while the SJB and the opposition had gained control of several councils by adhering to these guidelines, the current government was exerting pressure to alter them.
Premadasa pointed out that page 7 of these guidelines details the process for deciding on a secret or open vote, including questioning each member by name. He accused authorities and local government commissioners of unilaterally changing these guidelines in various areas because the SJB and the opposition were gaining power in councils by following them.
The Opposition Leader expressed gratitude to the local government commissioners who implemented the guidelines correctly. He questioned how a request for an open vote, signed by 60 Colombo Municipal Council members, could be disregarded. He also demanded to know which parties had pressured officials to change the guidelines and implement their agendas, despite earlier assurances that the guidelines would be followed. Premadasa condemned the blatant violation of these guidelines in Colombo and several other local authorities as a blow to democracy.
He further alleged that there were pressures from higher authorities to deviate from these guidelines, leading to their disregard in several places, which he deemed a violation of democracy and fundamental rights due to the inconsistency between open and secret ballots in different areas. Premadasa vowed to take all necessary steps against this anti-democratic action.
Duminda Nagamuwa of the Frontline Socialist Party stated that the recent secret ballot for Colombo Municipal Council positions indicated that the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) had also started engaging in political deals.
In a separate incident, UNP council member for the Colombo Municipal Council, Uluwaduuge Sandamali, was reportedly seriously injured and admitted to the Colombo National Hospital following an assault by activists of the National People’s Power (NPP).
The injured council member is currently receiving treatment in the emergency care unit of the Colombo National Hospital. A complaint has been filed with the police station at the hospital regarding the incident. Further reports indicate that the political attack occurred near Uluwaduuge Sandamali’s office.
The council member was reportedly attacked while recording NPP activists behaving disruptively and setting off firecrackers near her office on her mobile phone. A video reportedly shows the council member’s account of the brutal attack.
It has been reported that the council member, who was subjected to a collective assault by a group of NPP activists, cried for help, and her husband and several neighbors came to her aid, only to be assaulted themselves.
Despite the assault, the council member was eventually taken to the hospital with the assistance of a passing vehicle.
According to the results of the recent local government elections, the NPP secured 48 seats out of the 117 total seats in the Colombo Municipal Council, while the SJB won 29 seats. The UNP obtained 13 seats, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna 5 seats, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress 4 seats, and the Sarvajana Bala Wegaya 2 seats. The remaining seats were distributed among other political parties and independent groups.
