COLOMBO: The Sri Lan­kan parliament has passed a new local bodies election law under which women will get 25 per cent reservation in seats where 60pc of the seats will be filled as per the First Past the Post System (FPP) and 40pc under the Proportional Representation (PR) system.

The preferential votes system, which had resulted in much infighting among parties and proved an obstacle in promoting women into politics, has been abolished.

Local Bodies Minister Faizer Musthapha said most of the features from 900 appeals the ministry received on the issue were incorporated in the bill but explained that some changes were not possible due to legal limitations.

The minister appealed to all political parties to not use the 25pc quota allocated for women to field relatives as their candidates.

Published in Dawn, August 27th, 2017