1993 Sri Lankan presidential election

Last updated March 10, 2024

An indirect presidential election was held in the Parliament of Sri Lanka on 7 May 1993, following the assassination of president Ranasinghe Premadasa by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in Colombo.^[1] The president of Sri Lanka was elected by the Parliament of Sri Lanka in a secret ballot to decide who would complete the remainder of Premadasa's term.

Incumbent prime minister and acting president Dingiri Banda Wijetunga was the only contester for the presidency and was unanimously elected, without a vote, as the fourth president of Sri Lanka. He was named as the candidate of the ruling United National Party.^[2] Wijetunga was to continue the presidential term of Premadasa until the 1994 Sri Lankan presidential election was held in November 1994.^[3]

Procedure

According to the Presidential Elections (Special Provisions) Act of 1981, "Where the office of President becomes vacant in terms of paragraph (1) of Article 38 of the Constitution, as provided by Article 40 of the Constitution, Parliament shall elect as President one of its members who is qualified to be elected to the office of President, to hold office for the unexpired period of the term of office of the President vacating office.^[4]^[5]

Election schedule

According to the Presidential Elections (Special Provisions) Act of 1981, "Where the office of President becomes vacant in terms of paragraph (1) of Article 38 of the Constitution, as provided by Article 40 of the Constitution, Parliament shall elect as President one of its members who is qualified to be elected to the office of President, to hold office for the unexpired period of the term of office of the President vacating office."^[4] The constitution requires for a successor to be elected within 30 days.^[6]

Date	Day	Event
1 May 1993	Saturday	President Ranasinghe Premadasa is assassinated by a LTTE bomb blast in Colombo while attending a May Day rally.
		Prime Minister Dingiri Banda Wijetunga takes oath as acting president.
		Speaker announces presidential election through Parliament within seven days.
7 May 1993	Friday	Secretary General of Parliament officially informs the House that the office of President has fallen vacant and calls for nominations.
7 May 1993	Friday	As he was the sole candidate, prime minister Dingiri Banda Wijetunga is elected as the 4th president of Sri Lanka without a vote, and assumes office until the end of Premadasa's term.

Candidates

Declared

Candidate		Political office and constituency	Date declared	Proposer/ seconder	Notes	Ref.
	Dingiri Banda Wijetunga (77) United National Party	Acting President (1–7 May 1993) Prime Minister (1989–1993) Kandy	7 May 1993	Wijayapala Mendis A. C. S. Hameed	Elected unanimously.	^[2]^[3]

Aftermath

Following his appointment, Wijetunga appointed UNP MP Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister.^[7]

The UNP government was defeated by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party led by Chandrika Kumaratunga in the August 1994 parliamentary elections, thus Kumaratunga would briefly succeed Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister.^[8]

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References

↑ Moore, Molly (24 February 2024). "SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS LEADER OF SRI LANKA". The Washington Post . ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
1 2 Weerasooriya, Sahan (12 September 2021). "How D.B. Wijetunga became Executive President of Sri Lanka". Sunday Island. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2024.
1 2 Perera, Miran. "Elected President by unanimous decision of Parliament". Daily News . Retrieved 3 March 2024.
1 2 "Presidential Elections (Special Provisions) Act". LawNet. Parliament of Sri Lanka. 1981. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.
↑ Zulfick Farzan (16 July 2022). "Vacant Presidency? Parliament procedure for election of President". News First. Archived from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
↑ Mihindukulasuriya, Regina; Krishnankutty, Pia (12 July 2022). "Who will succeed Gotabaya when he resigns? Game of Thrones begins to pick next Lanka President". ThePrint . Archived from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.
↑ "Profile: Ranil Wickramasinghe" Archived 2 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine . BBC News. 2005-11-22. Retrieved 2008-10-04.
↑ "Hon Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (1994–2005)" Archived 3 June 2004 at the Wayback Machine . The official website of the Government of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2008-10-04.

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[1] Moore, Molly (24 February 2024). "SUICIDE BOMBER KILLS LEADER OF SRI LANKA". The Washington Post . ISSN 0190-8286. Archived from the original on 10 May 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2024.

[:0-2] 1 2 Weerasooriya, Sahan (12 September 2021). "How D.B. Wijetunga became Executive President of Sri Lanka". Sunday Island. Archived from the original on 9 June 2023. Retrieved 3 March 2024.

[:1-3] 1 2 Perera, Miran. "Elected President by unanimous decision of Parliament". Daily News . Retrieved 3 March 2024.

[lawnet1981-4] 1 2 "Presidential Elections (Special Provisions) Act". LawNet. Parliament of Sri Lanka. 1981. Archived from the original on 21 July 2022. Retrieved 17 July 2022.

[procedure-5] Zulfick Farzan (16 July 2022). "Vacant Presidency? Parliament procedure for election of President". News First. Archived from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.

[succeed-6] Mihindukulasuriya, Regina; Krishnankutty, Pia (12 July 2022). "Who will succeed Gotabaya when he resigns? Game of Thrones begins to pick next Lanka President". ThePrint . Archived from the original on 15 July 2022. Retrieved 15 July 2022.

[7] "Profile: Ranil Wickramasinghe" Archived 2 August 2009 at the Wayback Machine . BBC News. 2005-11-22. Retrieved 2008-10-04.

[8] "Hon Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga (1994–2005)" Archived 3 June 2004 at the Wayback Machine . The official website of the Government of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 2008-10-04.

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v t e Sri Lankan presidential elections
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