Presidential elections were held in Sri Lanka on 21 December 1999. This was the 4th presidential election in the country's history, and nominations were accepted on 16 November 1999. Incumbent President Chandrika Kumaratunga of the governing People's Alliance was re-elected for a second term, defeating the United National Party's Ranil Wickremesinghe, receiving 51% of the vote. This was Wickremesinghe's first of three unsuccessful bids for the presidency.[1]
Chandrika Kumaratunga assumed office on 12 November 1994, after winning that year's presidential election. Under the provisions of the Constitution, the president was elected to a six-year term and could call an early presidential election after completing four years of the first term. President Kumaratunga decided to call an early election, as she was constitutionally eligible, since four years of her first term were completed on 12 November 1998. She announced the Proclamation through Gazette Extraordinary No. 1102/22 on 20 October 1999.[2]
Nominations
Nominations were accepted from 9:00 am to 11:00 am IST on 16 November 1999. The election date, 21 December 1999, was announced via Gazette Extraordinary No. 531/12 on the same day.
President Kumaratunga declared her intention to run for a second term, campaigning to continue her actions against the LTTE.
During the campaign, the UNP proposed a live presidential debate between Ranil Wickremesinghe and President Kumaratunga to discuss major national issues, particularly the conflict with the LTTE, economic policies, and governance.[3] Kumaratunga declined to participate, and as a result, the debate never took place.
Assassination attempt
On 18 December 1999, three days before the election, Kumaratunga was seriously wounded in a suicide-bomb attack at her final election rally in Colombo. The attack was carried out by a female LTTE suicide bomber.[4] The blast killed dozens, including members of her security detail, senior police officers, journalists, and bystanders, and injured over 100. Kumaratunga lost vision in her right eye and sustained facial injuries.[5] Despite her injuries, she was sworn in for a second term on 22 December 1999 while still bandaged, vowing to fight terrorism and restore peace.[6][7]
Results
The results were officially declared on 22 December 1999, with Chandrika Kumaratunga winning a second term. She was sworn in later that same day at the Temple Trees, only hours after the announcement of the final results.[6]
This page is based on this Wikipedia article Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply. Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.
2.84pp)
