DailyMirror.lk:
Southern Province Chief Minister Shan Wijeyalal De Silva yesterday suspended Methsiri de Silva from the Galle Mayorship and appointed Mohomad Husain Fawzul Niyas as the acting Mayor.
The suspension of the Mayor was made effective through a Gazette notification and the Chief Minister said the decision was taken since the Mayor had not responded to a charge sheet against him.
He said a retired Judge had been appointed to investigate the charges against him.The charge sheet has been served on him in February and the Local Government Commissioner was directed to conduct the preliminary investigations. These charges were based on the allegations leveled at him by some UPFA members of the Galle Municipal Council and the rate payers, the Chief Minister said.
Meanwhile, the suspended Mayor said he had not fraudulently spent any money of the council and he always acted in a justifiable way.
At the 2006 local government elections two candidates for the Galle Municipal Council Kelum Seneviratne and Methsiri de Silva who contested from the UPFA secured an equal number of highest preferences – 5998 each. Accordingly the two agreed to hold the Office of Mayor for two years each and Kalum Senevirathna to hold the office first. But Seneviratha continued to hold the mayor’s office even after the lapse of two years. However Methsiri de Silva was able to gain the Mayorship after he protested and staged fast.