Governor’s Office Being Used to Undermine Local Authorities; Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam
14-Jun-2026.
Tamil National People’s Front (TNPF) leader and Jaffna District MP Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam has alleged that the Government is using the Northern Province Governor’s Office to interfere with and obstruct the functioning of elected local government bodies controlled by opposition parties in Jaffna.
He made these remarks in Parliament on June 12 while raising questions under Standing Order 27(2).
Addressing the House, Ponnambalam referred to the transfer of Jaffna High Court Judge G. Alexraja to the Badulla Civil Appellate High Court on 27 May 2026, barely a month after his appointment to Jaffna.
He stated that the Jaffna Bar Association, in a letter addressed to the President on 30 May 2026, had alleged that external influences, including interventions by the Northern Province Governor and a senior Government Minister, may have contributed to the judge’s transfer.
According to Ponnambalam, Judge Alexraja had previously issued interim orders in two writ applications and had suspended proceedings initiated against the Point Pedro Urban Council. He had also suspended the transfer of a teacher during his tenure as a High Court Judge in Kilinochchi.
The MP claimed that all three cases involved circumstances that were unfavourable to the Governor, who had been named as a respondent. He further alleged that copies of relevant case records had been requested by the Chief Justice shortly before the transfer was ordered.
Ponnambalam argued that local authorities such as the Point Pedro Urban Council and the Chavakachcheri Urban Council, both controlled by representatives aligned with the Tamil National People’s Front, had been subjected to investigations initiated by the Governor over recent months.
He pointed out that, under Section 184 of the Urban Councils Ordinance, authority over investigations involving local authorities rests with the Provincial Minister responsible for Local Government. However, provincial council elections have not been held, and he accused the Government of exploiting the Governor’s Office to interfere in the affairs of opposition-controlled local bodies.
Raising a series of questions, Ponnambalam asked whether the Minister of Justice accepted that communications sent by the Northern Province Governor to the Judicial Service Commission concerning orders issued by the Jaffna High Court in Writ Applications No. 006/2026 and No. 008/2026 constituted an improper interference in the administration of justice.
He further requested clarification on what action, if any, the Government intended to take against the Governor should such conduct be deemed inappropriate, and what measures would be adopted to safeguard the independence of the judiciary and rectify the situation.
With that, the set concludes. Ten stories, several courtrooms, a mass grave, an airport terminal, competing political accusations, environmental concerns, and enough procedural detail to keep a newsroom copy desk occupied long past midnight. Human governance remains a magnificent machine for producing meetings, statements and investigations. Occasionally, it even produces decisions.
