Two officials attached to the Galle Municipal Council were arrested this morning by officers of the Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption on charges of soliciting and accepting a bribe of Rs.5,000.

According to the Bribery Commission, the bribe was allegedly taken in exchange for providing a document recording the tax amount due to the Municipal Council for displaying an advertising board at a hardware store.

The arrests were made at around 8.50 am inside the Revenue Inspection Division of the Galle Municipal Council.

The suspects are scheduled to be produced before the Galle Magistrate’s Court. (Newswire)

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Municipal Councillor Harshani Sandaruwani of the Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte Municipal Council, who was recently arrested, was granted bail after being presented before the Colombo Fort Magistrate’s Court yesterday (17).

She was arrested by the Criminal Investigations Department (CID) in connection with contemptuous remarks made against the judiciary and its rulings during the court proceedings on August 22, when former President Ranil Wickremesinghe was presented before the court.

Investigations conducted by the CID’s Special Investigation Unit led to the arrest of 46-year-old Councillor Harshani Sandaruwani. (Newswire)

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The National People’s Power (NPP) has established power in the Matale and Kalutara Municipal Councils during elections held today.

NPP’s Ashoka Kottahachchi was elected Mayor of the Matale Municipal Council after securing 12 votes. 

Meanwhile, NPP’s Danoj Somaratne was elected Mayor of the Kalutara Municipal Council after securing 17 votes.

During the election, the opposition SJB’s candidate had obtained 13 votes, while one vote had been rejected.  

However, the opposition Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) has established power in the Hambantota Municipal Council.

SJB candidate D.A. Gamini was elected Mayor of the Hambantota Municipal Council during elections held today. 

The SJB had won a majority of seats at the local council following the 2025 Local Government Elections. 

The SJB has also established power in the Buttala Pradeshiya Sabha during elections held today.

During the inaugural session of the local council today, SJB candidate Rajika Chathuranga was elected as Chairman of the council by securing a majority of votes. (Newswire)

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The party membership of Priyantha Godagama Sahabandu, who was appointed as Deputy Mayor of the Galle Municipal Council from the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), has been suspended.

This was announced via a statement issued under the signature of the SLPP General Secretary, Sagara Kariyawasam, which also states that disciplinary action will be taken against him.

It is reported that the party had informed the members about the procedures to be followed in the election of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Galle Municipal Council.

According to the SLPP statement, however, the election was conducted contrary to the party’s instructions, and as a result, Priyantha Godagama was elected as the Deputy Mayor.

As such, it has been announced that the party membership of Priyantha Godagama will be suspended with immediate effect, and the right to all positions and responsibilities held in the SLPP will also be cancelled. 

Earlier today, SLPP member Priyantha Godagama supported the National People’s Power (NPP) to establish power in the Galle Municipal Council, after which he was appointed as the Deputy Mayor. (Newswire)

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National People’s Power (NPP) councillor Sunil Gamage was elected as the Mayor of the Galle Municipal Council today (20) with 19 votes. 

He was elected through a secret ballot held during the inaugural council session, with no objections.  

Despite holding only 17 seats in the 36-member council following the local government elections, the NPP secured the mayorship after councillors voted in favour of a secret ballot, approved by 19 members. 

A total of 16 councillors from the SJB, UNP, and PJP walked out in protest, creating a tense situation in the chamber. One vote was rejected.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) councillor Priyantha Sahabandu was elected unopposed as Deputy Mayor after being nominated by SLPP councillor Nihal Mahavithana and seconded by councillor Champika Himali.

The Galle Municipal Council consists of 36 members:

• NPP: 17 seats
• SJB: 9 seats
• UNP: 5 seats
• SLPP: 3 seats
• PJP: 2 seats

Although the opposition collectively holds 19 seats, the NPP managed to secure the key post in today’s vote held under the supervision of Southern Province Commissioner of Local Government Erandi Umanga Mendis. (Newswire)

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The Illankai Tamil Arasu Katchi (ITAK) has formed the Jaffna Municipal Council after securing a majority of votes. 

ITAK General Secretary M.A. Sumanthiran said ITAK’s Vivekanandarajah Mathivathani was elected Mayor of the Jaffna Municipal Council. 

In a post on social media, he further said that she had secured 16/19 votes during the election for Mayor. (Newswire)

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National People’s Power (NPP) member Sagaradheera Vishva Vikrama today was elected as the Mayor of the Bandarawela Municipal Council after securing eight votes.

He was elected as mayor with a majority of four votes, receiving six votes from the NPP, along with two votes from Independent Group 02 and one vote from Independent Group 01.

For the position of Deputy Mayor, the NPP nominated Srikanth Nanda from Independent Group 01, who also secured eight votes, the same as the newly elected mayor.

Independent Group 01’s Mohammed Naushad, who contested for the mayoral position, received only four votes from his group. He also contested for the deputy mayor position and received the same number of votes.

A notable aspect of the election was that the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), which had previously stated its intention to secure power within the council alongside the opposition, abstained from participating in the voting process. (Newswire)

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Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) candidate Sivam Pakkiyanathan has been elected as the Mayor of the Batticaloa Municipal Council, Batticaloa District MP Shanakiyan Rasamanickam said today.

Taking to ‘X’, MP Shanakiyan said that Sivam Pakkiyanathan had been elected with the support of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) members. 

“In a surprising turn, the NPP government reportedly employed various unconventional tactics to rally support for their candidate, even going so far as to form an alliance with former MP Pillayan’s Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP),” he said. 

MP Shanakiyan pointed out that given that Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan, alias Pillayan, remains in custody over multiple serious allegations, the government’s willingness to align with such a figure in pursuit of power has raised serious concerns. (Newswire)

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The Samagi Jana Blawegaya (SJB) has taken control of the Kurunegal Municipal Council which was once the stronghold of former minister Johnston Fernando.

The SJB has taken control of the Kurunegala MC after successfully defeating the council’s budget proposed by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) last week (02). 

SJB member Sumedha Arunashantha was elected as the Mayor of Kurunegala by a majority of four votes.

The new Mayor of the Kurunegela Municipal Council assumed duties today after obtaining the blessings of religious leaders of the area. (NewsWire)

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