Colombo: For the first time ever in Sri
Lanka, a Buddhist monk would become the city mayor after
winning the highest number of preference votes in the polls.
Gnanaprabha, a Buddhist monk from the Sinhala
nationalist party Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) will take office
as the Chairman of the Urban Council of Embilipitiya, a rural
town in the south western Ratnapura district.
Gnanaprabha was made to earn his place after he had
won the highest number of preference votes in the election
of Embilipitiya Urban Council held on Saturday.
The government agreed to appoint him after he staged a
protest opposing Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) man, likely to
be chosen for the job.
"I am so glad that President Mahinda Rajapaksa has
agreed to appoint me. I am giving up protest action",
Gnanaprabha said today.
The JHU is a partner in the ruling United People's
Freedom Alliance (UPFA) coalition.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, July 28, 2011, 22:57