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50 seats to the State Council of Ceylon 26 seats were needed for a majority | ||
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The first election to the State Council of Ceylon were held from 13 to 20 June 1931. [1] This was the first election in a British colony which used universal adult franchise. [2]
In 1931 the Donoughmore Constitution replaced the Legislative Council of Ceylon with the State Council of Ceylon as the legislature of British Ceylon. The State Council was to consist of 58 members of which 50 would be elected by universal suffrage and the remaining 8 members appointed the Governor.
The old Legislative Council was dissolved on 17 April 1931 and candidate nominations took place on 4 May 1931. [3] The Jaffna Youth Congress, an organisation that campaigned for Ceylon independence, called for a boycott of the election since the Donoughmore Constitution did not grant dominion status to Ceylon. [3] Consequently, no nominations were received in four constituencies in the north of the country (Jaffna, Kankesanthurai, Kayts and Point Pedro). [3] In addition, nine other constituencies only had a single nomination each and consequently the candidates were elected without a vote. [3] Elections in the remaining 37 constituencies took place between 13 and 20 June 1931.
In 1934 by-elections were held for the four vacant seats in the north. [4]
The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is the supreme legislative body of Sri Lanka. It alone possesses legislative supremacy and thereby ultimate power over all other political bodies in the island. It is modeled after the British Parliament.
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The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral legislature for Ceylon, established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution. The State Council gave universal adult franchise to the people of the colony for the first time. It replaced the Legislative Council of Ceylon, the colony's original legislative body.
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The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first form of representative government in the island. The 1931 Donoughmore Constitution replaced the Legislative Council with the State Council of Ceylon.
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The 1st State Council of Ceylon was a meeting of the State Council of Ceylon, with the membership determined by the results of the 1931 state council election held between 13 and 20 June 1931. The parliament met for the first time on 7 July 1931 and was dissolved on 7 December 1935.
Jaganathan Tyagaraja was a Ceylon Tamil barrister, politician and member of the State Council of Ceylon.
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