The 1st Eastern Provincial Council was a meeting of the Eastern Provincial Council, with the membership determined by the results of the 2008 provincial council election held on 10 May 2008. The council met for the first time on 4 June 2008 and was dissolved prematurely on 27 June 2012.

Election

The 1st Eastern Provincial Council election was held on 10 May 2008. The

United People's Freedom Alliance The United People's Freedom Alliance (abbreviated UPFA; si, එක්සත් ජනතා නිදහස් සන්ධානය ''Eksath Janathā Nidahas Sandānaya''; ta, ஐக்கிய மக்கள் சுதந்திரக� ...

(UPFA), which was in power nationally, formed an alliance the Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal (TMVP) paramilitary group and won 20 of the 37 seats. The

United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...

(UNP) formed an alliance the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and won 15 seats. Smaller parties won the remaining 2 seats. The

Tamil National Alliance The Tamil National Alliance ( ta, தமிழ்த் தேசியக் கூட்டமைப்பு ISO 15919: ''tamiḻt tēciyakkūṭṭamaippu''; TNA) is a political alliance in Sri Lanka that represents the country's Sri Lankan ...

(TNA), the largest party representing the

Sri Lankan Tamils Sri Lankan Tamils ( or ), also known as Ceylon Tamils or Eelam Tamils, are Tamils native to the South Asian island state of Sri Lanka. Today, they constitute a majority in the Northern Province, live in significant numbers in the Eastern Pro ...

boycotted the election.

Results

The new provincial council met for the first time on 4 June 2008. Ajju Mohamed Mohamed Faiz and M. K. D. S. Gunawardena were elected Chairman and Deputy Chairman respectively.

Government/Board of Ministers

S. Chandrakanthan, leader of the paramilitary Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal, was appointed

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

Mohan Wijewickrama Vice Admiral Mohan Wijewickrama, RSP, VSV, USP (born 12 June 1953) is a former Sri Lankan senior naval officer turned politician. He served as the Chief of Staff of the Sri Lanka Navy from 2001 to 2005. He was appointed Governor of North East ...

. Chandrakanthan was sworn in on 16 May 2008 in

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

in front of

President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) *President (education), a leader of a college or university *President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...

. The four government ministers appointed by the Governor with effect from 16 May 2008 were: M. L. Alim Mohammad Hisbullah (UPFA-ACMC); Thuraiyappa Navarathnaraja (UPFA-TMVP); Meera Sahibu Udumalebbe (UPFA-NC); and Dissanayaka Wimalaweera (UPFA-SLFP). Minister M. L. Alim Mohammad Hisbullah (UPFA-ACMC) lost his seat on the council after being elected to Parliament. His ministerial replacement Muhamed Sharief Subair (UPFA-ACMC) was sworn in on 17 May 2010 in Trincomalee in front of the Governor. According to article 154E of the

Constitution of Sri Lanka The Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව, Śrī Laṃkā āndukrama vyavasthāva, ta, இலங்கை அரசிய� ...

the normal life of a provincial council is five years from the date of its first meeting. But using powers granted to him by article 154B(8)c Governor Mohan Wijewickrama dissolved the council prematurely on 27 June 2012, nearly a year ahead of schedule.

Deaths and resignations

The 1st Eastern Provincial Council saw the following deaths and resignations: * 8 July 2008: Rauff Hakeem (UNP-TRI) resigned to take a

National List The National List ( he, רשימה ממלכתית, ''Reshima Mamlakhtit''), sometimes translated as the State List, was a political party in Israel. Despite being founded by David Ben-Gurion, one of the fathers of the Israeli left, the party is ...

seat in the

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...

. His replacement was A. U. Razik Fareed. * July 2008:

Hasen Ali Mohammed Thambi Hasen Ali (Hasan Ali) is a Sri Lankan politician and a member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka. In January 2003 Ali was elected secretary general of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC). Ali was appointed as the SLMC's National ...

(UNP-AMP) resigned to take a National List seat in the Parliament. His replacement was Masoor Sinnalebbe. * April 2010:

M. S. Thowfeek Mohamed Shariff Thowfeek ( ta, முகம்மது சரிப் தௌஃபீக், translit=Mukam'matu Carip Tauḥpīk; born 7 January 1971) is a Sri Lankan politician, former provincial councillor, former deputy minister and Member ...

(UNP-TRI) lost his seat after being elected to Parliament. His replacement was A. R. Mohamed. * April 2010: M. L. Alim Mohammad Hisbullah (UPFA-BAT) lost his seat after being elected to Parliament. His replacement was K. L. M. Fareed. * April 2010: M. K. D. S. Gunawardena (UPFA-TRI) lost his seat after being elected to Parliament. His replacement was N. G. Hewawitharana. * April 2010:

Basheer Segu Dawood Basheer Segu Dawood (Bazir Ceegu Dhawood) is a Sri Lankan politician and Member of Parliament. Basheer Segu Dawood started his political career with Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students (EROS) militants and contested his first parliament ...

(UNP-BAT) lost his seat after being elected to Parliament. His replacement was M. H. Sehu Ismail. * 15 April 2011: T. A. K. Thewarapperuma (UPFA-AMP) died. His replacement was D. R. S. Premarathna.

Members

References

* {{reflist, 2 2008 establishments in Sri Lanka 2012 disestablishments in Sri Lanka Eastern Provincial Council