Summary
- Electoral maps of Sri Lankan presidential elections
2024 Election
2019 Election
2015 Election
2010 Election
2005 Election
1999 Election
1994 Election
1988 Election
1982 Election
 Others |  Others |
The President of Sri Lanka is directly elected by voters for a five-year term. [1] Below is a list of presidential elections in Sri Lanka, including the number of votes obtained by each candidate and voter turnout. [2]
| Election | Winning candidate | Runner-up candidate | Others | Total votes | Turnout | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Candidate | Party | Votes | % | Votes | % | |||||
| 1982 | J. R. Jayewardene | UNP | 3,450,811 | 52.91% | Hector Kobbekaduwa | SLFP | 2,548,438 | 39.07% | 522,898 | 8.02% | 6,522,147 | 81.06% | ||
| 1988 | Ranasinghe Premadasa | UNP | 2,569,199 | 50.43% | Sirimavo Bandaranaike | SLFP | 2,289,860 | 44.95% | 235,719 | 4.63% | 5,094,778 | 55.32% | ||
| 1994 | Chandrika Kumaratunga | SLFP | 4,709,205 | 62.28% | Srima Dissanayake | UNP | 2,715,283 | 35.91% | 137,038 | 1.81% | 7,561,526 | 70.47% | ||
| 1999 | Chandrika Kumaratunga | SLFP | 4,312,157 | 51.12% | Ranil Wickremesinghe | UNP | 3,602,748 | 42.71% | 520,849 | 6.17% | 8,435,754 | 73.31% | ||
| 2005 | Mahinda Rajapaksa | SLFP | 4,887,152 | 50.29% | Ranil Wickremesinghe | UNP | 4,706,366 | 48.43% | 123,521 | 1.28% | 9,717,039 | 73.73% | ||
| 2010 | Mahinda Rajapaksa | SLFP | 6,015,934 | 57.88% | Sarath Fonseka | NDF | 4,173,185 | 40.14% | 204,494 | 1.97% | 10,393,613 | 74.50% | ||
| 2015 | Maithripala Sirisena | NDF | 6,217,162 | 51.28% | Mahinda Rajapaksa | SLFP | 5,768,090 | 47.58% | 138,200 | 1.14% | 12,123,452 | 81.52% | ||
| 2019 | Gotabaya Rajapaksa | SLPP | 6,924,255 | 52.25% | Sajith Premadasa | NDF | 5,564,239 | 41.99% | 764,005 | 5.76% | 13,252,499 | 83.72% | ||
| 2024 | Anura Kumara Dissanayake | NPP | 5,634,915 | 42.30% | Sajith Premadasa | SJB | 4,363,035 | 32.75% | 3,321,666 | 24.95% | 13,319,616 | 79.46% | ||
| 5,740,179 | 55.89% | 4,530,902 | 44.11% | — | ||||||||||
| Others | Others |
The 1982 Sri Lankan presidential election was the inaugural presidential election, held on 20 October 1982. Incumbent president J. R. Jayewardene of the governing United National Party was re-elected, receiving 53% of all valid votes cast and defeating his main opponent Hector Kobbekaduwa of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.
The 2005 Sri Lankan presidential election was the 5th presidential election, held on 17 November 2005. Nominations were accepted on 7 September 2005 and voter turnout was 73.73%. Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa of the governing United People's Freedom Alliance was elected, receiving 50.3% of all votes cast.
Vanni Electoral District is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district covers the administrative districts of Mannar, Mullaitivu and Vavuniya in the Northern province. The district currently elects 6 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 253,058 registered electors in 2014.
The 1994 Sri Lankan presidential election was the 3rd presidential election, held on 9 November 1994. Nominations were accepted on 7 October 1994 and voter turnout was 70.47%. Prime Minister Chandrika Kumaratunga of the governing People's Alliance was elected, receiving 62% of all votes cast, becoming the first female president of Sri Lanka.
The 1988 Sri Lankan presidential election was the 2nd presidential election, held on 19 December 1988. Nominations were accepted on 10 November 1988. Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa of the governing United National Party was elected, receiving 50.4% of all votes cast and defeating both the Sri Lanka Freedom Party candidate, former Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, and the Sri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya candidate, Ossie Abeygunasekera.
Jaffna Electoral District is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district covers the administrative districts of Jaffna and Kilinochchi in the Northern province. The district currently elects 9 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 529,239 registered electors in 2014.
Batticaloa Electoral District is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Batticaloa in the Eastern province. The district currently elects 5 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 344,750 registered electors in 2010.
Trincomalee Electoral District is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Trincomalee in the Eastern province. The district currently elects 4 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 246,890 registered electors in 2010.
Ampara (Digamadulla) Electoral District is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Ampara in the Eastern province. The district currently elects 7 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 436,148 registered electors in 2010.
Colombo Electoral District is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Colombo in the Western province. The district currently elects 19 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 1,709,209 registered electors in 2020.
Gampaha electoral district is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Gampaha in the Western province. The district currently elects 18 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 1,785,964 registered electors in 2020.
Kalutara electoral district is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Kalutara in the Western province. The district currently elects 10 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 813,233 registered electors in 2010.
Matale electoral district is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Matale in the Central province. The district currently elects five of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 342,684 registered electors in 2010.
Nuwara Eliya electoral district is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Nuwara Eliya in the Central province. The district currently elects 7 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 457,137 registered electors in 2010.
The 2010 Sri Lankan presidential election was the 6th presidential election, held on 26 January 2010. The elections were announced on 23 November 2009 when incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa decided to seek a fresh mandate prior to the expiration of his term in 2011. Nominations were accepted on 17 December 2009.
Hambantota electoral district is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Hambantota in the Southern province. The district currently elects 7 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 421,186 registered electors in 2010.
Puttalam electoral district is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Puttalam in the North Western province. The district currently elects 8 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 495,575 registered electors in 2010.
Kegalle electoral district is one of the 22 multi-member electoral districts of Sri Lanka created by the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka. The district is conterminous with the administrative district of Kegalle in the Sabaragamuwa province. The district currently elects 9 of the 225 members of the Sri Lankan Parliament and had 613,938 registered electors in 2010.
The 2015 Sri Lankan presidential election was the 7th presidential election, held on 8 January 2015. This election was held two years ahead of schedule. Incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa was the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance's candidate, seeking a third term in office. The United National Party-led opposition coalition chose to field Maithripala Sirisena, former Minister of Health in Rajapaksa's government and general secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party – the main constituent party of the UPFA – as its common candidate.
The 2024 Sri Lankan presidential election was the ninth presidential election in the country’s history and was held on 21 September 2024. Incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe ran for re-election as an independent candidate, making him the first sitting president to run for re-election since Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2015. Other prominent candidates included Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa, Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the NPP, and Namal Rajapaksa, son of former President Mahinda Rajapaksa.
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