15 of 1987 was passed by Parliament on 15 April 1987 and on 1 January 1988 257 Divisional Councils started functioning.
In August 1995 the Sri Lankan military launched an offensive to recapture the Jaffna peninsula.
By December 1995 the military had captured most of the Valikamam region of the peninsula, including the city of Jaffna.
[3] On 3 December 1997 the government announced that elections would be held for the 17 local authorities on the Jaffna peninsula.
[7][8] The normal life term of Sri Lankan local government bodies is four years.
[12] In January 2004 elections in the north and east, except for local authorities in Ampara District, were postponed, for a fourth time, until 23 October 2004.