Bangalore (Bloomberg) Elections in Sri Lanka's north, the first since the defeat of the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE), promote democracy in regions where voting was prevented for more than 30 years, President Mahinda Rajapakse said.
The state held elections as soon as "terrorism was defeated," providing the opportunity for "democratic expression" in the regions of Jaffna and Vavuniya, Rajapakse said in a statement posted on the Ministry of Defence website.
Rajapakse's United People's Freedom Alliance won 13 of 25 seats in Jaffna's municipal council, according to government announced results on Sunday. The Tamil National Alliance, the largest Tamil group in parliament, won most votes in Vavuniya's Urban Council elections, it said.
Sri Lanka's army defeated the LTTE in May, ending its 26-year fight for a separate Tamil homeland in the country's north and east. The elections were held as an estimated 280,000 mostly Tamil civilians remain in camps after being driven from their homes by the war.
The United Nations and the United States are leading international calls for the quick return of the refugees. The government says it plans to settle most people by December.
Soldiers manning areas for the elections outnumbered voters more than two to one, TamilNet, a website that gives reports from the Tamil perspective, reported on Sunday. There was only a 20 per cent turnout in the municipal elections and the "most important message" is that Tamils fighting for a separate homeland "will trust only an election conducted under their own sovereignty," it said.
