List of parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka

Last updated

Parliamentary elections have been held in Sri Lanka since the first in 1947, under three different constitutions: the Soulbury Constitution, the 1972 Constitution, and the currently enforced 1978 Constitution. Sixteen parliamentary elections have been held up to and including the 2020 election. The seventeenth is scheduled for 14 November 2024. [1]

Contents

The current Parliament of Sri Lanka has 225 members elected for a five-year term. 196 members are elected from 22 multi-seat constituencies through an open list proportional representation with a 5% electoral threshold; voters can rank up to three candidates on the party list they vote for. The other 29 seats are elected from a national list, with list members appointed by party secretaries and seats allocated according to the island-wide proportional vote the party obtains. [2]

Every proclamation dissolving parliament must be published in The Sri Lanka Gazette and must specify the nomination period and the date of the election. The first meeting of the new parliament must occur within three months of the previous parliament's dissolution. [3]

History

In 1833 the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission created the Legislative Council of Ceylon, the first step in representative government in British Ceylon. Initially this council consisted of 16 members which included the British Governor, the 5 appointed members of the Executive Council of Ceylon, 4 other government officials, and 6 appointed unofficial members. In 1889 the number of appointed unofficial members was increased to 8.

Legislative Council elections: 1911–1924

Election yearLegislative CouncilTotal seatsDescription
1911 [lower-alpha 1] 1st 2111 official and 10 non-official members. Of the non-official members, 6 were appointed by the governor and the remaining 4 were elected.
1917 2nd
1921 [lower-alpha 2] 3rd 3714 official and 23 unofficial members. Of the non-official members, 4 were appointed by the governor and the remaining 19 were elected.
1924 [lower-alpha 3] 4th 4912 official and 37 unofficial members. Of the non-official members, 8 were appointed by the governor and the remaining 29 were elected.

State Council elections: 1931–1936

Duration

Dates of nomination, election, dissolution and duration of State Councils [4]
State CouncilDate ofDuration
NominationElectionFirst meetingDissolved
1st 4 May 193113–20 June 1931 [lower-alpha 4] 6 July 19317 December 19354 years, 5 months and 1 day
2nd 15 January 193622 February – 7 March 1936 [lower-alpha 5] 16 March 19364 July 194711 years, 3 months and 18 days

Elections

Election yearState CouncilTotal seatsDescription
1931 1st 58The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral legislature of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution. It introduced universal adult franchise to the colony for the first time, replacing the Legislative Council of Ceylon, the original legislative body.
1936 2nd

Parliamentary elections: 1947–2020

Duration

Dates of nomination, election, dissolution and duration of Parliaments [4]
NameDate ofDuration
NominationElectionFirst meetingDissolved
1st 26 July 194723 August – 20 September 1947 [lower-alpha 6] 14 October 19478 April 19524 years, 5 months and 25 days
2nd 28 April 195224–30 May 1952 [lower-alpha 7] 9 June 195218 February 19563 years, 8 months and 9 days
3rd 8 March 19565–10 April 1956 [lower-alpha 8] 19 April 19565 December 19593 years, 7 months and 16 days
4th 4 January 196019 March 196030 March 196023 April 196024 days
5th 20 May 196020 July 19605 August 196017 December 19644 years, 4 months and 12 days
6th 11 January 196522 March 19655 April 196525 March 19704 years, 11 months and 20 days
7th 23 April 197027 May 19707 June 1970—1 year, 11 months and 15 days
With the promulgation of the 1972 Constitution on 22 May 1972, the 1st National State Assembly superseded the 7th Parliament of Ceylon.
1st ——22 May 197218 May 19774 years, 11 months and 26 days
2nd 6 June 197721 July 19774 August 1977—1 year, 1 month and 3 days
With the promulgation of the 1978 Constitution on 7 September 1978, the 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka (1st Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka) superseded the 2nd National State Assembly.
The 1982 referendum on extending the parliamentary term by six years was held in Sri Lanka on 22 December 1982. Through the Fourth Amendment to the Constitution, the term of the 8th Parliament was extended until 4 August 1989.
8th ——7 September 197820 December 198810 years, 3 months and 13 days
9th 6 January 198915 February 19899 March 198924 June 19945 years, 3 months and 15 days
10th 11 July 199416 August 199425 August 199418 August 20005 years, 11 months and 24 days
11th 28 August – 4 September 200010 October 200018 October 200010 October 200111 months and 22 days
12th 20–27 October 20015 December 200119 December 20017 February 20042 years, 1 month and 19 days
13th 17–24 February 20042 April 200422 April 20049 February 20105 years, 9 months and 18 days
14th 19–26 February 20108 and 20 April 201022 April 201026 June 20155 years, 2 months and 4 days
15th 6–13 July 201517 August 20151 September 20152 March 20204 years, 6 months and 1 day
16th 12–19 March 20205 August 202020 August 202024 September 20244 years, 1 month and 4 days
17th 4–11 October 2024To be held on 14 November 2024To be convened on 21 November 2024TBD0 days

Elections

Elections, seats and Prime Ministers [5]
ElectionParliamentTotal seats Turnout Largest partySeats wonSeat majoritySeat percentage Prime Minister(s) Ref.
1947 1st 9555.81% United National Party 42-644.21% D. S. Senanayake (1947–1952) [lower-alpha 9]
Dudley Senanayake (1952)		 [6] [7]
1952 2nd 70.7% United National Party 54+656.84%Dudley Senanayake (1952–1953) [lower-alpha 10]
Sir John Kotelawala (1953–1956)		 [8] [9]
1956 3rd 69.04% Mahajana Eksath Peramuna 51+353.68% S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike (1956–1959) [lower-alpha 9]
Wijeyananda Dahanayake (1959–1960)		 [10] [11]
1960 (March) 4th 15177.6% United National Party 50-2633.11%Dudley Senanayake [12] [13]
1960 (July) 5th 75.9% Sri Lanka Freedom Party 75-149.67% Sirimavo Bandaranaike [14] [15]
1965 6th 81.13% United National Party 66-1043.71%Dudley Senanayake [16] [17]
1970 7th 85.2% Sri Lanka Freedom Party 91+1560.26%Sirimavo Bandaranaike [18] [19]
1977 [lower-alpha 11] 8th 16886.7% United National Party 140+5583.33% J. R. Jayewardene (1977–1978) [lower-alpha 12]
Ranasinghe Premadasa (1978–1989) [lower-alpha 13] 		[20] [21]
1989 [lower-alpha 14] 9th 22563.6% United National Party 125+1255.56% Dingiri Banda Wijetunga (1989–1993) [lower-alpha 15]
Ranil Wickremesinghe (1993–1994)		 [22]
1994 10th 76.24% People's Alliance 105-846.67% Chandrika Kumaratunga (1994) [lower-alpha 16]
Sirimavo Bandaranaike (1994–2000) [lower-alpha 10]
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake (2000)		 [23]
2000 11th 75.63% People's Alliance 107-647.56%Ratnasiri Wickremanayake [24] [25]
2001 12th 76.03% United National Front 96-1742.67%Ranil Wickremesinghe [26] [27]
2004 13th 75.96% United People's Freedom Alliance 105-846.67% Mahinda Rajapaksa (2004–2005) [lower-alpha 17]
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake (2005–2010)		 [28] [29]
2010 14th 61.26% United People's Freedom Alliance 144+3164% D. M. Jayaratne (2010–2015) [lower-alpha 10]
Ranil Wickremesinghe (2015) [lower-alpha 18] 		[30]
2015 15th 77.66% United National Front 106-747.11%Ranil Wickremesinghe (2015–2018) [lower-alpha 19]
Mahinda Rajapaksa (2018) [lower-alpha 20]
Ranil Wickremesinghe (2018–2019) [lower-alpha 21] [lower-alpha 10]
Mahinda Rajapaksa (2019–2020) [lower-alpha 22] 		[31]
2020 16th 75.89% Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance 145+3264.44%Mahinda Rajapaksa (2020–2022) [lower-alpha 10]
Ranil Wickremesinghe (2022) [lower-alpha 23] [lower-alpha 24]
Dinesh Gunawardena (2022–2024) [lower-alpha 25] [lower-alpha 10]
Harini Amarasuriya (2024) [lower-alpha 26] 		[32]
2024 17th TBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBDTBD

Notes

  1. ↑ McCallum Reforms of 1910
  2. ↑ First Manning Reforms of 1920
  3. ↑ Second Manning Reforms of 1923
  4. ↑ 13 and 15–20 June 1931
  5. ↑ 22, 24–29 February, 2–3, 5, and 7 March 1936
  6. ↑ 23, 25–30 August, 1, 4, 6, 8–11, 13, 15–18 and 20 September 1947
  7. ↑ 24, 26, 28 and 30 May 1952
  8. ↑ 5, 7, and 10 April 1956
  9. 1 2 Died in office.
  10. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Resigned.
  11. ↑ The election was delayed until 1977 using the 1972 Constitution, instead of holding it by 1975 as required under the old Soulbury Constitution.
  12. ↑ Appointed as the 1st Executive President of Sri Lanka through a constitutional amendment on 4 February 1978.
  13. ↑ Elected as president on 19 December 1988 and was sworn in on 2 January 1989.
  14. ↑ The 1989 parliamentary election was the first since 1977, as the election due by 1983 had been cancelled by the 1982 referendum.
  15. ↑ Elected unanimously by the parliament as president to complete the remainder of Ranasinghe Premadasa's term and was sworn in on 7 May 1993.
  16. ↑ Elected as president on 9 November 1994 and was sworn in on 12 November 1994.
  17. ↑ Elected as president on 17 November 2005 and was sworn in on 19 November 2005.
  18. ↑ Appointed as prime minister by President Maithripala Sirisena on 9 January 2015 following his victory in the 2015 presidential election.
  19. ↑ Dismissed from office by President Maithripala Sirisena on 26 October 2018.
  20. ↑ Appointed by President Maithripala Sirisena as prime minister on 26 October 2018. After failing to secure a vote of majority support in the House, Rajapaksa's duties were suspended by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. Subsequently resigned from office on 15 December 2018.
  21. ↑ Restored as prime minister after the 2018 Sri Lankan constitutional crisis on 16 December 2018.
  22. ↑ Appointed as prime minister by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 21 November 2019 following his victory in the 2019 presidential election.
  23. ↑ Appointed as prime minister by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 12 May 2022.
  24. ↑ Elected by the parliament as president on 20 July 2022 and was sworn in on 21 July 2022.
  25. ↑ Appointed as prime minister by President Ranil Wickremesinghe on 22 July 2022.
  26. ↑ Appointed as prime minister by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on 24 September 2024 following his victory in the 2024 presidential election.

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References

  1. ↑ "Our History". Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2024. Archived from the original on 9 October 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  2. ↑ "The Electoral System". The Parliament of Sri Lanka. 14 December 2012. Archived from the original on 6 September 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  3. ↑ "The Constitution of the D. S. R. of Sri Lanka" (PDF). The Parliament of Sri Lanka. 30 March 2023. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 September 2024. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  4. 1 2 "Duration of Parliament". Parliament of Sri Lanka. 25 September 2024. Archived from the original on 28 October 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  5. ↑ "Parliamentary Election Results". Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 23 September 2024. Archived from the original on 23 September 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  6. ↑ "Results of Parliamentary General Election – 1947" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
  7. ↑ "1947 General Election Results". LankaNewspapers.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  8. ↑ "Results of Parliamentary General Election – 1952" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  9. ↑ "1952 General Election Results". LankaNewspapers.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  10. ↑ "Results of Parliamentary General Election – 1956" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  11. ↑ "1956 General Election Results". LankaNewspapers.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  12. ↑ "Results of Parliamentary General Election – 19/03/1960" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2019. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  13. ↑ "1960 March General Election Results". LankaNewspapers.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  14. ↑ "Results of Parliamentary General Election – 20/07/1960" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  15. ↑ "1960 July General Election Results". LankaNewspapers.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  16. ↑ "Results of Parliamentary General Election – 22/03/1965" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  17. ↑ "1965 General Election Results". LankaNewspapers.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  18. ↑ "Results of Parliamentary General Election – May 27, 1970" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  19. ↑ "1970 General Election Results". LankaNewspapers.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  20. ↑ "Parliamentary Election – 1977" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  21. ↑ "1977 General Election Results". LankaNewspapers.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 25 February 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  22. ↑ "Parliamentary General Election – 1989" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  23. ↑ "Parliamentary General Election – 1994" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  24. ↑ "Parliamentary Elections 2000" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  25. ↑ "2000 General Election Results". LankaNewspapers.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  26. ↑ "Parliamentary Elections 2001" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  27. ↑ "2001 General Election Results". LankaNewspapers.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 15 March 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  28. ↑ "Parliamentary General Election 2004" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  29. ↑ "2004 General Election Results". LankaNewspapers.com. 2012. Archived from the original on 23 March 2012. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  30. ↑ "Parliamentary General Election 2010" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  31. ↑ "Parliamentary Elections 2015" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2018. Archived (PDF) from the original on 18 August 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
  32. ↑ "Parliament Election 2020 – Votes, Seats and National List Seats by Party – All Island" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 7 August 2020. Archived (PDF) from the original on 26 July 2024. Retrieved 28 October 2024.
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