Sri Lankan leader Ranil 'disappointed' over poll process

Leader of Opposition in Sri Lankan Parliament Ranil Wickramasinghe said here today that he was disappointed over the election process to the Northern Provincial Council polls in his country.
"We are disappointed," Wickramasinghe told reporters at the airport, adding, the demand of the opposition parties to post election observers for the provincial elections has not been met. "Also, we are disappointed as a civilian has not been made the Governor. We did not expect a person from military background," he said.
In reply to a question, the Sri Lankan leader said not only Tamils, but other sections of the Lankan society like Muslims and Sinhalese faced problems and "that is why we are campaigning for National Elections next year," he said.

According to Sri Lankan media reports, Wickramasinghe, who is on a three-day tour of India, will hold talks with Congress and opposition BJP leaders besides top government officials in New Delhi.
An elected council for the Northern Province in Sri Lanka was among the measures for devolution of power contemplated under the 13th amendment to the Sri Lankan Constitution. The amendment was introduced after the 1987 Indo-Lanka Accord.
The ruling United People's Freedom Alliance, the main opposition United National Party and the Tamil National Alliance are the major contestants in the elections to the Northern Provincial Council.