By contrast, the Marxist JVP barely managed to retain their one council and the JHU all Buddhist-monks party failed to secure one.

"No doubt this augurs well for the future and the peace process," the state-run Daily News said in an editorial. "It is quite obvious that those political parties seen as espousing the interests of specific cultural groups have been rejected."

The JVP and JHU are both coalition partners of President Rajapakse in parliament but each contested the local elections independently.

The privately-owned Island newspaper said the Marxists were disappointed by the results as they had expected to control at least half a dozen councils and demonstrate their electoral strength.

But the poll had exposed the vote base of the Marxists, Island said, adding that the party had been left with only a "loin cloth".

In an editorial headlined: "Road is clear, Mr. President," it said the JVP had "overestimated its strength and, worst of all, came to believe in its own propaganda lies. It went to the extent of boasting that it was ready to even take over the country".

There was no immediate reaction from either the monks or the Marxists, but the president's party invited both to cooperate with him and work towards delivering services to people at the local level.

Both parties have a hardline stance against Sri Lanka's peace broker Norway and oppose concessions to Tamil Tiger rebels, but the peace bid was not an issue during the local election campaign.

More than 60,000 people have been killed in Sri lanka's drawn out Tamil separatist conflict.

Muslim legislator Rauf Hakeem said the election could not be seen as a mandate for anything other than improving utilities at the local level.

However, government sources said the Marxists who hold 39 seats in the 225-member parliament and the monks who have nine would now have less political clout.

Newspapers speculated that a snap parliamentary election could boost the president's party and it may be able to go on its own without the backing of the hardline Marxists and monks who helped him win the November presidential election.

The main opposition United National Party (UNP), which supports the peace moves, secured 33 councils and the principal minority Tamil party won five.

The balance went to smaller regional groups.

In the last elections for 222 councils in 2002, the president's party won four councils, the UNP 217 and the JVP took one.

A low turnout marred the polls, which independent election monitors said were largely free and fair.

Election officials estimated that only about half of the 10.1 million eligible voters turned out to cast their ballots to elect municipal, urban and village councils, compared to 67 percent in 2002.

There was no balloting in the island's restive northern and eastern regions, which are largely under the control of Tamil Tiger rebels.

-Amal Jayasinghe: win98win@gmail.com