The establishment of the new Beruwala Urban Council, which was scheduled to commence today (19), has been temporarily halted, according to a group of councilors of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).

Although arrangements had been made to hold the inaugural meeting of the council today under the supervision of the Western Provincial Commissioner of Local Government, four out of the six councilors elected to the Beruwala Urban Council from the SJB had not received the official letter notifying them of the meeting.

As a result, they filed a petition at the Court of Appeal.

Accordingly, the Appeals Court has ruled that the establishment of the urban council should proceed only after the relevant letters are delivered appropriately and due notice is given.

According to SJB councilors, both the group of independent candidates and the SJB group, who arrived this morning, left the Beruwala Urban Council premises without waiting for the arrival of the Commissioner.

Furthermore, it was noted that a document signed by the Municipal Commissioner had been posted, stating that today’s council session and the formation of the council would not take place.

During the recent Local Government (LG) election, the Independent Group won seven seats, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya won six 6 seats while the National People’s Power (NPP) secured three seats in the Beruwala Urban Council.