In Sri Lanka, local government elections have been scheduled for the 9th of March. The announcement comes in the form of gazette notifications issued by returning officers.<br />''<br />''<span style="color: #222222;">More than 80,700 candidates are in the fray for 8,771 seats in 340 local councils. The Election commission of Sri Lanka has said that the candidates belong to 58 registered political parties and 329 independent groups.</span><br />