15 parties in fray for Jaffna polls

Fifteen political parties and 12 independent groups would contest for the nine parliamentary seats in Jaffna district.

The Sri Lankan parliamentary elections are to be held on April 8. The elections are contested on a district basis with each district having a set number of seats. Political parties submit lists of candidates on a district basis. People vote for the party list and also indicate their preferences within the list.

^ENS

Among the parties contesting in Jaffna is the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Puligal (TMVP), a breakaway LTTE group thought to have a base only in the eastern districts of Batticaloa and Amparai.

This will be the first time that TMVP is contesting in northSri Lanka.

Another significant feature of the 2010 parliamentary election in Jaffna is that the Eelam Peoples’ Democratic Party (EPDP) led by Jaffna strongman and Cabinet minister Douglas Devananda is contesting as part of the United Peoples’ Freedom Alliance led by President Mahinda Rajapaksa.

The EPDP would contest under the betel leaf symbol and not under its own Veena symbol.

The Tamil National Alliance led by R Sampanthan will be contesting as Ilankai Tamil Arasu Katchi. It has already announced its list of national (nominated) MPs.

The list includes a Muslim, Imam and a lawyer from Jaffna.

^ENS