A surprise vote inside the Colombo Municipal Council has handed the ruling National People’s Power a sharp political blow, exposing fragile alliances and deepening uncertainty over the council’s future.
The budget proposal for the upcoming year of the Colombo Municipal Council, currently controlled by the National People’s Power, has been defeated by a narrow margin, triggering a fresh political crisis within Sri Lanka’s largest local authority.
The budget was presented and voted on at today’s council session, where the ruling administration suffered a significant setback. A total of 57 councillors voted in favour of the budget, while 60 voted against it, defeating the proposal by a majority of three votes.
With the budget rejection, serious questions have emerged regarding the future administrative functioning of the Colombo Municipal Council, including its ability to implement development plans and manage essential municipal services.
Following the most recent local government elections, governance within the Colombo Municipal Council has remained unstable from the outset. Out of 119 councillors, no single political party secured an outright majority, forcing all parties to rely on support from independent groups and smaller political formations.
As a result, the National People’s Power formed an administration with the backing of several minor parties and independent councillors. However, negotiations over a formal coalition faced repeated setbacks due to disagreements over the mayoral post and the distribution of key positions.
These unresolved power struggles created ongoing tension within the council. The defeat of the current budget is largely attributed to certain groups that initially supported the ruling administration but later voted against the proposal alongside the opposition.
The outcome has cast doubt on the effectiveness of coalition politics within the council and highlighted the limits of the secret ballot theory in maintaining political discipline.
