Balangoda Polling Division

Balangoda
Polling Division
Coordinates: 6°39′33″N80°46′41″E / 6.659259°N 80.778092°E / 6.659259; 80.778092
Country	Sri Lanka
Province	Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka
Electoral District	Ratnapura Electoral District
Area
• Total	523.89 km2 (202.28 sq mi)
Population  (2012) [1]
• Total	141,040
• Density	269/km2 (700/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code	EC-21D

The Balangoda Polling Division is a Polling Division in the Ratnapura Electoral District, in the Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka.

Presidential Election Results

Summary

The winner of Balangoda has matched the final country result 7 out of 8 times. Hence, Balangoda is a Strong Bellwether for Presidential Elections.

Year	Balangoda		Ratnapura Electoral District		MAE [2]  %	Sri Lanka		MAE [3]  %
2019		SLPP		SLPP	3.28%		SLPP	3.60%
2015		UPFA		UPFA	3.84%		NDF	4.29%
2010		UPFA		UPFA	2.57%		UPFA	3.17%
2005		UPFA		UPFA	2.73%		UPFA	0.16%
1999		PA		PA	2.39%		PA	1.67%
1994		PA		PA	1.47%		PA	5.61%
1988		UNP		UNP	0.41%		UNP	1.58%
1982		UNP		UNP	0.84%		UNP	3.93%
Matches/Mean MAE	7/8		7/8		2.19%	8/8		3.00%

2019 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Balangoda [4]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	SLPP		53,120	56.42%		448,044	59.93%		6,924,255	52.25%
	NDF		36,421	38.69%		264,503	35.38%		5,564,239	41.99%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		2,446	2.60%		16,237	2.17%		345,452	2.61%
	NMPP		2,160	2.29%		18,887	2.53%		418,553	3.16%
Valid Votes		94,147		99.22%	747,671		99.22%	13,252,499		98.99%
Rejected Votes		741		0.78%	5,853		0.78%	135,452		1.01%
Total Polled		94,888		86.45%	753,524		87.11%	13,387,951		83.71%
Registered Electors		109,756			864,979			15,992,568

2015 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Balangoda [5]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UPFA		44,798	51.81%		379,053	55.74%		5,768,090	47.58%
	NDF		40,501	46.84%		292,514	43.01%		6,217,162	51.28%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		1,175	1.36%		8,517	1.25%		138,200	1.14%
Valid Votes		86,474		98.85%	680,084		98.89%	12,123,452		98.85%
Rejected Votes		1,009		1.15%	7,656		1.11%	140,925		1.15%
Total Polled		87,483		82.09%	687,740		82.69%	12,264,377		78.69%
Registered Electors		106,575			831,712			15,585,942

2010 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Balangoda [6]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UPFA		46,716	61.07%		377,734	63.76%		6,015,934	57.88%
	NDF		28,201	36.87%		203,566	34.36%		4,173,185	40.15%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		1,573	2.06%		11,126	1.88%		204,494	1.97%
Valid Votes		76,490		99.24%	592,426		99.26%	10,393,613		99.03%
Rejected Votes		589		0.76%	4,430		0.74%	101,838		0.97%
Total Polled		77,079		79.58%	596,856		79.75%	10,495,451		66.70%
Registered Electors		96,855			748,404			15,734,587

2005 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Balangoda [7]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UPFA		35,410	50.17%		294,260	53.01%		4,887,152	50.29%
	UNP		34,049	48.24%		252,838	45.55%		4,706,366	48.43%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		1,128	1.60%		7,976	1.44%		123,521	1.27%
Valid Votes		70,587		98.83%	555,074		99.02%	9,717,039		98.88%
Rejected Votes		836		1.17%	5,510		0.98%	109,869		1.12%
Total Polled		71,423		81.22%	560,584		82.57%	9,826,908		69.51%
Registered Electors		87,938			678,909			14,136,979

1999 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Balangoda [8]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	PA		31,231	49.87%		250,409	52.13%		4,312,157	51.12%
	UNP		28,184	45.00%		202,621	42.18%		3,602,748	42.71%
	JVP		1,810	2.89%		16,482	3.43%		343,927	4.08%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		1,403	2.24%		10,852	2.26%		176,679	2.09%
Valid Votes		62,628		98.07%	480,364		98.15%	8,435,754		97.69%
Rejected Votes		1,232		1.93%	9,038		1.85%	199,536		2.31%
Total Polled		63,860		81.62%	489,402		81.27%	8,635,290		72.17%
Registered Electors		78,239			602,172			11,965,536

1994 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Balangoda [9]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	PA		32,501	56.62%		257,265	58.07%		4,709,205	62.28%
	UNP		23,943	41.71%		177,924	40.16%		2,715,283	35.91%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		959	1.67%		7,842	1.77%		137,040	1.81%
Valid Votes		57,403		97.82%	443,031		98.31%	7,561,526		98.03%
Rejected Votes		1,277		2.18%	7,595		1.69%	151,706		1.97%
Total Polled		58,680		80.23%	450,626		80.02%	7,713,232		69.12%
Registered Electors		73,136			563,174			11,158,880

1988 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Balangoda [10]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UNP		24,802	52.05%		180,622	51.75%		2,569,199	50.43%
	SLFP		22,074	46.33%		159,879	45.81%		2,289,857	44.95%
	SLMP		771	1.62%		8,516	2.44%		235,701	4.63%
Valid Votes		47,647		98.93%	349,017		98.84%	5,094,754		98.24%
Rejected Votes		516		1.07%	4,113		1.16%	91,499		1.76%
Total Polled		48,163		80.73%	353,130		76.64%	5,186,256		55.87%
Registered Electors		59,661			460,735			9,283,143

1982 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Balangoda [11]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UNP		22,923	50.53%		175,903	50.90%		3,450,815	52.93%
	SLFP		20,679	45.58%		152,506	44.13%		2,546,348	39.05%
	JVP		1,440	3.17%		11,283	3.26%		273,428	4.19%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		324	0.71%		5,912	1.71%		249,460	3.83%
Valid Votes		45,366		99.26%	345,604		99.02%	6,520,156		98.78%
Rejected Votes		336		0.74%	3,407		0.98%	80,470		1.22%
Total Polled		45,702		88.16%	349,011		85.91%	6,600,626		80.15%
Registered Electors		51,837			406,275			8,235,358

Parliamentary Election Results

Summary

The winner of Balangoda has matched the final country result 6 out of 7 times. Hence, Balangoda is a Strong Bellwether for Parliamentary Elections.

Year	Balangoda		Ratnapura Electoral District		MAE [12]  %	Sri Lanka		MAE [13]  %
2015		UNP		UPFA	3.64%		UNP	3.69%
2010		UPFA		UPFA	4.38%		UPFA	3.71%
2004		UPFA		UPFA	2.08%		UPFA	5.13%
2001		UNP		UNP	2.55%		UNP	3.78%
2000		PA		PA	0.93%		PA	4.23%
1994		UNP		PA	2.78%		PA	3.46%
1989		UNP		UNP	2.00%		UNP	6.69%
Matches/Mean MAE	6/7		6/7		2.62%	7/7		4.39%

2015 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Balangoda [14]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UNP		38,039	48.90%		284,117	44.96%		5,098,916	45.77%
	UPFA		37,015	47.58%		323,636	51.21%		4,732,664	42.48%
	JVP		2,307	2.97%		21,525	3.41%		544,154	4.88%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		430	0.55%		2,720	0.43%		83,333	0.75%
Valid Votes		77,791		95.13%	631,998		96.46%	11,140,333		95.35%
Rejected Votes		3,940		4.82%	23,026		3.51%	516,926		4.42%
Total Polled		81,771		76.73%	655,222		80.88%	11,684,111		77.66%
Registered Electors		106,575			810,082			15,044,490

2010 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Balangoda [15]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UPFA		36,020	64.47%		305,327	68.87%		4,846,388	60.38%
	UNP		18,410	32.95%		125,076	28.21%		2,357,057	29.37%
	DNA		1,200	2.15%		11,053	2.49%		441,251	5.50%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		238	0.43%		1,853	0.42%		35,498	0.44%
Valid Votes		55,868		90.90%	443,309		92.28%	8,026,322		96.03%
Rejected Votes		5,584		9.09%	37,022		7.71%	581,465		6.96%
Total Polled		61,461		63.46%	480,395		64.02%	8,358,246		59.29%
Registered Electors		96,855			750,416			14,097,690

2004 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Balangoda [16]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UPFA		32,042	51.24%		261,450	53.14%		4,223,126	45.70%
	UNP		27,685	44.27%		205,490	41.77%		3,486,792	37.73%
	JHU		2,364	3.78%		20,801	4.23%		552,723	5.98%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		448	0.72%		4,262	0.87%		58,082	0.63%
Valid Votes		62,539		93.51%	492,003		94.55%	9,241,931		94.52%
Rejected Votes		4,340		6.49%	28,346		5.45%	534,452		5.47%
Total Polled		66,879		78.42%	520,349		80.42%	9,777,821		75.74%
Registered Electors		85,285			647,035			12,909,631

2001 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Balangoda [17]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UNP		30,982	49.83%		227,202	46.41%		4,086,026	45.62%
	PA		25,849	41.58%		212,794	43.46%		3,330,815	37.19%
	JVP		4,106	6.60%		40,377	8.25%		815,353	9.10%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		1,237	1.99%		9,205	1.88%		131,990	1.47%
Valid Votes		62,174		92.84%	489,578		94.14%	8,955,844		94.77%
Rejected Votes		4,793		7.16%	30,483		5.86%	494,009		5.23%
Total Polled		66,967		81.68%	520,061		83.41%	9,449,878		76.03%
Registered Electors		81,992			623,506			12,428,762

2000 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Balangoda [18]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	PA		31,411	52.02%		244,142	50.63%		3,899,329	45.33%
	UNP		25,789	42.71%		204,017	42.30%		3,451,765	40.12%
	JVP		2,232	3.70%		22,222	4.61%		518,725	6.03%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		952	1.58%		11,873	2.46%		239,421	2.78%
Valid Votes		60,384		N/A	482,254		N/A	8,602,617		N/A

1994 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Balangoda [19]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UNP		29,959	50.78%		220,750	47.96%		3,498,370	44.04%
	PA		28,292	47.95%		233,687	50.77%		3,887,805	48.94%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		746	1.26%		5,848	1.27%		223,848	2.82%
Valid Votes		58,997		93.85%	460,285		95.12%	7,943,688		95.20%
Rejected Votes		3,870		6.16%	23,611		4.88%	400,395		4.80%
Total Polled		62,861		85.95%	483,890		85.77%	8,344,095		74.75%
Registered Electors		73,136			564,194			11,163,064

1989 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Balangoda [20]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UNP		27,987	61.06%		196,323	57.89%		2,838,005	50.71%
	SLFP		16,662	36.35%		123,360	36.38%		1,785,369	31.90%
	USP		931	2.03%		17,323	5.11%		17,323	0.31%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		252	0.55%		2,116	0.62%		68,609	1.23%
Valid Votes		45,832		93.47%	339,122		94.37%	5,596,468		93.87%
Rejected Votes		3,201		6.53%	20,248		5.63%	365,563		6.13%
Total Polled		49,033		83.30%	359,370		78.60%	5,962,031		63.60%
Registered Electors		58,861			457,224			9,374,164

Demographics

Ethnicity

The Balangoda Polling Division has a Sinhalese majority (81.5%) and a significant Indian Tamil population (10.5%) . In comparison, the Ratnapura Electoral District (which contains the Balangoda Polling Division) has a Sinhalese majority (87.1%) ^[1]

Ethnicity in Balangoda ^[1]

   Sinhalese (81.5%)

   Indian Tamil (10.5%)

   Moor (4.3%)

   Sri Lankan Tamil (3.5%)

  Other (0.2%)

Religion

The Balangoda Polling Division has a Buddhist majority (80.3%) and a significant Hindu population (12.1%) . In comparison, the Ratnapura Electoral District (which contains the Balangoda Polling Division) has a Buddhist majority (86.7%) ^[1]

Religion in Balangoda ^[1]

   Buddhist (80.3%)

   Hindu (12.1%)

   Muslim (4.5%)

   Roman Catholic (2.1%)

  Other (1.0%)

References

1. "Census of Population and Housing 2012". statistics.gov.lk. Department of Census and Statistics, Sri Lanka. 2012.
2. The mean absolute error, between the percentages of votes each party got in Balangoda and the Ratnapura Electoral District. It is a measure of the difference in voting behaviour between the two regions.
3. The mean absolute error, between the percentages of votes each party got in Balangoda and the country. It is a measure of the difference in voting behaviour between the two regions.
4. "2019 Sri Lankan presidential election Results". elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
5. "2015 Sri Lankan presidential election Results". elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2015. Archived from the original on 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
6. "2010 Sri Lankan presidential election Results". elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2010. Archived from the original on 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
7. "2005 Sri Lankan presidential election Results". elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2005. Archived from the original on 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
8. "1999 Sri Lankan presidential election Results". elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 1999. Archived from the original on 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
9. "1994 Sri Lankan presidential election Results". elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 1994. Archived from the original on 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
10. "1988 Sri Lankan presidential election Results". elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 1988. Archived from the original on 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
11. "1982 Sri Lankan presidential election Results". elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 1982. Archived from the original on 2019-12-19. Retrieved 2020-06-10.
12. The mean absolute error, between the percentages of votes each party got in Balangoda and the Ratnapura Electoral District. It is a measure of the difference in voting behaviour between the two regions.
13. The mean absolute error, between the percentages of votes each party got in Balangoda and the country. It is a measure of the difference in voting behaviour between the two regions.
14. "2015 Sri Lankan parliamentary election Results" (PDF). elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2015.
15. "2010 Sri Lankan parliamentary election Results" (PDF). elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2010.
16. "2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election Results" (PDF). elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2004.
17. "2001 Sri Lankan parliamentary election Results" (PDF). elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2001.
18. "2000 Sri Lankan parliamentary election Results" (PDF). elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2000.
19. "1994 Sri Lankan parliamentary election Results" (PDF). elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 1994.
20. "1989 Sri Lankan parliamentary election Results" (PDF). elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 1989.