July 05, Colombo: The Sri Lankan government through a special Gazette Notification has banned the use of dog and tiger as party symbols by any political party in the country.

Addressing a media briefing held at the Elections Secretariat today, the Elections Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya has said that accordingly no recognized political party will be permitted to use the tiger or the dog as their party symbol.

Similarly, recognized political parties are not permitted to use the bull and the pigeon as party symbols but independent groups may use those symbols.

At present, there are 64 recognized political parties in Sri Lanka.