Lanka's coalition govt to face first poll test

The unity government of two major political parties in Sri Lanka is likely to face its first major test when the provincial councils go to polls by the end of the year. The Chair of the Elections Commission Mahinda Deshapriya said the notice calling for nominations for three of the nine provincial councils would be issued by October 2. the nominations should be finalised within three weeks thereafter when the polls date would be announced. The election must take place between five or eight weeks from such notice. The election would be the first since the unity government of President Maithripala Sirisena came to power in 2015. The government has faced accusations of delaying the elections for over 300 local councils since 2015.