| Matara Municipal Council | |
| House Type: | Local authority |
| Leader1 Type: | Acting Mayor |
| Leader2 Type: | Deputy Mayor |
| Leader2: | Ranjith Yasarathna |
| Election2: | 8 October 2011 |
| Leader3 Type: | Municipal Commissioner |
| Leader3: | Senaka Palliyaguruge |
| Members: | 30 |
The Matara Municipal Council is the local council for Matara, the second largest city in the Southern Province of Sri Lanka, the third level administrative division of the country. The council was established under the Municipalities Ordinance of 1865 as the 13th municipal council of Sri Lanka.
The Matara Four Gravets is 21.2sqkm in area. The average elevation above sea level is 16m (52feet).
Matara Municipal Council is divided into 36 Grama Niladhari Divisions (GN Divisions), with seven villages.
The current population of Matara Four Gravets area, according to 2011 Census, is 114,970, a decline from the population of 103,246 in 2001.
| Ethnicity | Population[1] | % Of Total |
|---|---|---|
| Sinhalese | 67,470 | 95.87 |
| Sri Lankan Moors | 4,314 | 3.75 |
| Sri Lankan Tamils | 304 | 0.26 |
| Indian Tamils | 22 | 0.02 |
| Other (including Burgher, Malay) | 140 | 0.09 |
| Total | 114,970 | 100 |
The Mayor of Matara is the head of Matara Municipal Council and his office is located at the Matara Town Hall. Mayor Sosindra Handunge resigned on 20 September 2015 from his position and the current acting mayor is Ranjith Yasaratna.
The Matara Municipal Council is divided into 30 wards and is represented by 30 councillors, elected using an open list proportional representation system.[2]
Results of the local government election held on 8 February 2018:[3]
| valign=bottom align=left colspan=2 | Alliances and parties ! | valign=bottom align=center width="60" | Votes ! | valign=bottom align=center width="50" | % ! | valign=bottom align=center | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bgcolor= | Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna | 20,655 | 45.72% | 15 | |||
| bgcolor= | United National Party | 13,446 | 29.76% | 8 | |||
| bgcolor= | United People's Freedom Alliance (NC, SLFP et al.) | 5,668 | 12.55% | 4 | |||
| bgcolor= | Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna | 5,233 | 11.58% | 3 | |||
| National People's Party | 179 | 0.4% | 0 | ||||
| Valid Votes | 45,181 | 100.00% | 30 | ||||
| Rejected Votes | 720 | ||||||
| Total Polled | 45,901 | ||||||
| Registered Electors | 56,455 | ||||||
| Turnout | |||||||
Results of the local government election held on 8 October 2011:[4] [5]
| valign=bottom align=left colspan=2 | Alliances and parties ! | valign=bottom align=center width="60" | Votes ! | valign=bottom align=center width="50" | % ! | valign=bottom align=center | Seats |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bgcolor= | United People's Freedom Alliance (NC, ACMC, SLFP et al.) | 20,681 | 57.68% | 9 | |||
| bgcolor= | United National Party | 12,619 | 35.20% | 5 | |||
| bgcolor= | Peoples Liberation Front | 1,449 | 4.04% | 1 | |||
| Independent 1 | 1,056 | 2.95% | 0 | ||||
| Our National Front | 18 | 0.05% | 0 | ||||
| Jana Setha Peramuna | 10 | 0.03% | 0 | ||||
| People's Liberation Solidarity Front | 8 | 0.02% | 0 | ||||
| Ruhuna People's Party (Ruhunu Janatha Party) | 8 | 0.02% | 0 | ||||
| Independent 2 | 5 | 0.01% | 0 | ||||
| Valid Votes | 35,854 | 97.82% | 15 | ||||
| Rejected Votes | 798 | ||||||
| Total Polled | 36,652 | ||||||
| Registered Electors | 51,895 | ||||||
| Turnout | 70.63% | ||||||
Preference votes (2011) results as below:
Sosindra Handunge UPFA: topping the list with – 8,389 votes followed by UPFA candidates K.D.G Yasarathna – 7,206 and Chathura Galappaththi with 6,356 and UNP list : Upul Nishantha – 7,486 votes followed by Nandasena Sellaheva – 3,035 preference votes respectively.
The Matara Municipal Council has five standing committees each headed by committee chairman. The standing committees are Finance and Tender, Works and Solid Waste, Health and Sanitisation, Electricity and Water, and Environment.