Battle for Colombo Mayorship heats up

The election for the position of Mayor of the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), which has attracted much attention following the recent local government elections, will likely take a heated turn, according to political sources.

Preparations are currently underway to hold the election of the Mayor and Deputy Mayor of the Colombo Municipal Council on June 02.

However, since the ruling National People’s Power (NPP) was unable to cross the 50% threshold to establish power in the Colombo Municipal Council, which is considered a major local government institution in the country, in such a context, the opposition political parties are also paying close attention to this matter.

Political commentators have pointed out that this battle has taken a significant turn as political parties have focused their maximum energy on establishing power in the Colombo Municipal Council.

Secret discussions have also begun between political parties in this regard and it is reported that in some cases, certain parties are also working to provide various perks and privileges to win over political party members.

In this situation, the candidate from the government or the opposition who secures more than 50% of the votes from council members in the election conducted by the Local Government Commissioner will be elected as the Mayor of the Colombo Municipal Council.

In the 2025 local government elections, the NPP won 48 seats in the Colombo Municipal Council as a single party, while the opposition, including the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), collectively won 69 seats.