United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) today urged the Minister of Local Government and Provincial Councils to provide a year’s extension to local councils whose term expires on March 31 and to hold elections under the new electoral system.

UPFA General Secretary Susil Premajayantha said the demarcation should be gazetted during that time allowing the Elections Department to hold elections under the new system and ensure representative democracy at the Local Government level.

He said the term of office of 234 local councils would end on March 31 this year and stressed the need to give priority for the proposed electoral system and added that the elections commissioner needed more time to prepare for the election as the demarcation of electorates was yet to be gazetted.

Mr. Premajayantha said the subject minister could extend the term of the local councils comprising of Municipal Councils, Urban Councils and Pradeshiya Sabhas by one year under the provisions of the Local Government Act and added that elections had been postponed on several previous occasions as well.

He said the majority of local government bodies were under the control of UPFA and said the support of the local government members were needed to complete the development work that had been already started.

Another 70 local councils would end its term in August this year.(Ajith Siriwardana)