The President of Sri Lanka, Chandrika Kumaratunga, has postponed local elections that were due to take place later this month.
No new date has been given.
The postponement was made possible by the declaration on Tuesday of a state of emergency throughout the country.
Analysts say the government was likely to perform badly in the elections.
Sri Lanka's military had called for the elections to be cancelled, saying the police could not be spared from their other duties to guarantee security at the polls.
From the newsroom of the BBC World Service
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