President Mahinda Rajapaksa is expected to dissolve one of the three remaining Provincial Councils – either the Southern, Uva or Western — within the next fortnight, authoritative sources said yesterday.

When contacted for his views, a confident Senior Presidential Advisor Basil Rajapaksa, MP, acknowledged that there is the possibility of such a dissolution in the forthcoming weeks, and quipped, "it’s being done because the Opposition wants more elections".

Meanwhile, the General Secretary, United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and Minister, Susil Premajayanth said that as the people are firmly behind President Rajapaksa and the Government, they are confident of winning any election.

He said that the SLFP Election Operations Committee Chaired by Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickramanayake and comprising Basil Rajapaksa, SLFP General Secretary Minister Maithripala Sirisena, People’s Alliance General Secretary Minister D. M. Jayaratne, Senior Vice President Minister Nimal Siripala De Silva, Treasurer Minister Dulles Alahapperuma and himself as General Secretary of the UPFA would coordinate and contribute to the polls campaign.