Nivithigala Polling Division

Nivithigala
Polling Division
Coordinates: 6°35′22″N80°27′50″E / 6.589471°N 80.463780°E / 6.589471; 80.463780
Country	Sri Lanka
Province	Sabaragamuwa Province, Sri Lanka
Electoral District	Ratnapura Electoral District
Area
• Total	354.64 km2 (136.93 sq mi)
Population  (2012) [1]
• Total	141,281
• Density	398/km2 (1,030/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code	EC-21F

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

Presidential Election Results

Summary

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

Year	Nivithigala		Ratnapura Electoral District		MAE [2]  %	Sri Lanka		MAE [3]  %
2019		SLPP		SLPP	1.74%		SLPP	5.10%
2015		UPFA		UPFA	2.41%		NDF	10.57%
2010		UPFA		UPFA	1.67%		UPFA	7.42%
2005		UPFA		UPFA	0.24%		UPFA	2.53%
1999		PA		PA	1.56%		PA	2.32%
1994		PA		PA	0.08%		PA	4.23%
1988		UNP		UNP	0.85%		UNP	1.37%
1982		UNP		UNP	1.81%		UNP	4.84%
Matches/Mean MAE	7/8		7/8		1.29%	8/8		4.80%

2019 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Nivithigala [4]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	SLPP		50,806	58.35%		448,044	59.93%		6,924,255	52.25%
	NDF		32,691	37.55%		264,503	35.38%		5,564,239	41.99%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		2,230	2.56%		16,237	2.17%		345,452	2.61%
	NMPP		1,344	1.54%		18,887	2.53%		418,553	3.16%
Valid Votes		87,071		99.18%	747,671		99.22%	13,252,499		98.99%
Rejected Votes		723		0.82%	5,853		0.78%	135,452		1.01%
Total Polled		87,794		87.97%	753,524		87.11%	13,387,951		83.71%
Registered Electors		99,796			864,979			15,992,568

2015 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Nivithigala [5]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UPFA		46,275	58.01%		379,053	55.74%		5,768,090	47.58%
	NDF		32,188	40.35%		292,514	43.01%		6,217,162	51.28%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		1,309	1.64%		8,517	1.25%		138,200	1.14%
Valid Votes		79,772		98.82%	680,084		98.89%	12,123,452		98.85%
Rejected Votes		956		1.18%	7,656		1.11%	140,925		1.15%
Total Polled		80,728		83.96%	687,740		82.69%	12,264,377		78.69%
Registered Electors		96,156			831,712			15,585,942

2010 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Nivithigala [6]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UPFA		45,248	65.30%		377,734	63.76%		6,015,934	57.88%
	NDF		22,431	32.37%		203,566	34.36%		4,173,185	40.15%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		1,613	2.33%		11,126	1.88%		204,494	1.97%
Valid Votes		69,292		99.18%	592,426		99.26%	10,393,613		99.03%
Rejected Votes		574		0.82%	4,430		0.74%	101,838		0.97%
Total Polled		69,866		80.33%	596,856		79.75%	10,495,451		66.70%
Registered Electors		86,973			748,404			15,734,587

2005 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Nivithigala [7]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UPFA		34,569	52.71%		294,260	53.01%		4,887,152	50.29%
	UNP		29,987	45.72%		252,838	45.55%		4,706,366	48.43%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		1,026	1.56%		7,976	1.44%		123,521	1.27%
Valid Votes		65,582		99.15%	555,074		99.02%	9,717,039		98.88%
Rejected Votes		560		0.85%	5,510		0.98%	109,869		1.12%
Total Polled		66,142		84.63%	560,584		82.57%	9,826,908		69.51%
Registered Electors		78,157			678,909			14,136,979

1999 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Nivithigala [8]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	PA		32,193	54.42%		250,409	52.13%		4,312,157	51.12%
	UNP		24,516	41.45%		202,621	42.18%		3,602,748	42.71%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		1,258	2.13%		10,852	2.26%		176,679	2.09%
	JVP		1,186	2.00%		16,482	3.43%		343,927	4.08%
Valid Votes		59,153		98.43%	480,364		98.15%	8,435,754		97.69%
Rejected Votes		941		1.57%	9,038		1.85%	199,536		2.31%
Total Polled		60,094		85.32%	489,402		81.27%	8,635,290		72.17%
Registered Electors		70,432			602,172			11,965,536

1994 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Nivithigala [9]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	PA		31,980	57.96%		257,265	58.07%		4,709,205	62.28%
	UNP		22,172	40.18%		177,924	40.16%		2,715,283	35.91%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		1,026	1.86%		7,842	1.77%		137,040	1.81%
Valid Votes		55,178		98.51%	443,031		98.31%	7,561,526		98.03%
Rejected Votes		836		1.49%	7,595		1.69%	151,706		1.97%
Total Polled		56,014		83.74%	450,626		80.02%	7,713,232		69.12%
Registered Electors		66,888			563,174			11,158,880

1988 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Nivithigala [10]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UNP		23,198	51.13%		180,622	51.75%		2,569,199	50.43%
	SLFP		21,298	46.94%		159,879	45.81%		2,289,857	44.95%
	SLMP		876	1.93%		8,516	2.44%		235,701	4.63%
Valid Votes		45,372		98.98%	349,017		98.84%	5,094,754		98.24%
Rejected Votes		467		1.02%	4,113		1.16%	91,499		1.76%
Total Polled		45,839		84.89%	353,130		76.64%	5,186,256		55.87%
Registered Electors		54,001			460,735			9,283,143

1982 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Nivithigala [11]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UNP		21,556	50.17%		175,903	50.90%		3,450,815	52.93%
	SLFP		20,308	47.27%		152,506	44.13%		2,546,348	39.05%
	JVP		779	1.81%		11,283	3.26%		273,428	4.19%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		319	0.74%		5,912	1.71%		249,460	3.83%
Valid Votes		42,962		99.25%	345,604		99.02%	6,520,156		98.78%
Rejected Votes		324		0.75%	3,407		0.98%	80,470		1.22%
Total Polled		43,286		89.23%	349,011		85.91%	6,600,626		80.15%
Registered Electors		48,510			406,275			8,235,358

Parliamentary Election Results

Summary

The winner of Nivithigala has matched the final country result 5 out of 7 times. Hence, Nivithigala is a Weak Bellwether for Parliamentary Elections.

Year	Nivithigala		Ratnapura Electoral District		MAE [12]  %	Sri Lanka		MAE [13]  %
2015		UPFA		UPFA	1.45%		UNP	5.43%
2010		UPFA		UPFA	3.05%		UPFA	8.45%
2004		UPFA		UPFA	1.38%		UPFA	6.29%
2001		PA		UNP	3.56%		UNP	5.28%
2000		PA		PA	2.50%		PA	4.80%
1994		PA		PA	1.31%		PA	2.72%
1989		UNP		UNP	1.85%		UNP	6.16%
Matches/Mean MAE	5/7		6/7		2.16%	7/7		5.59%

2015 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Nivithigala [14]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UPFA		40,125	53.49%		323,636	51.21%		4,732,664	42.48%
	UNP		33,353	44.46%		284,117	44.96%		5,098,916	45.77%
	JVP		1,305	1.74%		21,525	3.41%		544,154	4.88%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		229	0.31%		2,720	0.43%		83,333	0.75%
Valid Votes		75,012		96.31%	631,998		96.46%	11,140,333		95.35%
Rejected Votes		2,851		3.66%	23,026		3.51%	516,926		4.42%
Total Polled		77,886		81.00%	655,222		80.88%	11,684,111		77.66%
Registered Electors		96,156			810,082			15,044,490

2010 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Nivithigala [15]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UPFA		37,930	72.32%		305,327	68.87%		4,846,388	60.38%
	UNP		13,603	25.94%		125,076	28.21%		2,357,057	29.37%
	DNA		668	1.27%		11,053	2.49%		441,251	5.50%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		245	0.47%		1,853	0.42%		35,498	0.44%
Valid Votes		52,446		91.99%	443,309		92.28%	8,026,322		96.03%
Rejected Votes		4,559		8.00%	37,022		7.71%	581,465		6.96%
Total Polled		57,014		65.55%	480,395		64.02%	8,358,246		59.29%
Registered Electors		86,973			750,416			14,097,690

2004 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Nivithigala [16]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UPFA		32,331	54.70%		261,450	53.14%		4,223,126	45.70%
	UNP		25,321	42.84%		205,490	41.77%		3,486,792	37.73%
	JHU		1,076	1.82%		20,801	4.23%		552,723	5.98%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		378	0.64%		4,262	0.87%		58,082	0.63%
Valid Votes		59,106		94.96%	492,003		94.55%	9,241,931		94.52%
Rejected Votes		3,134		5.04%	28,346		5.45%	534,452		5.47%
Total Polled		62,240		81.99%	520,349		80.42%	9,777,821		75.74%
Registered Electors		75,915			647,035			12,909,631

2001 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Nivithigala [17]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	PA		28,833	49.01%		212,794	43.46%		3,330,815	37.19%
	UNP		26,220	44.57%		227,202	46.41%		4,086,026	45.62%
	JVP		2,756	4.68%		40,377	8.25%		815,353	9.10%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		1,020	1.73%		9,205	1.88%		131,990	1.47%
Valid Votes		58,829		94.84%	489,578		94.14%	8,955,844		94.77%
Rejected Votes		3,203		5.16%	30,483		5.86%	494,009		5.23%
Total Polled		62,032		84.77%	520,061		83.41%	9,449,878		76.03%
Registered Electors		73,176			623,506			12,428,762

2000 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Nivithigala [18]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	PA		31,798	54.47%		244,142	50.63%		3,899,329	45.33%
	UNP		24,062	41.22%		204,017	42.30%		3,451,765	40.12%
	JVP		1,631	2.79%		22,222	4.61%		518,725	6.03%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		886	1.52%		11,873	2.46%		239,421	2.78%
Valid Votes		58,377		N/A	482,254		N/A	8,602,617		N/A

1994 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Nivithigala [19]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	PA		27,908	49.60%		233,687	50.77%		3,887,805	48.94%
	UNP		27,819	49.44%		220,750	47.96%		3,498,370	44.04%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		542	0.96%		5,848	1.27%		223,848	2.82%
Valid Votes		56,269		95.24%	460,285		95.12%	7,943,688		95.20%
Rejected Votes		2,812		4.76%	23,611		4.88%	400,395		4.80%
Total Polled		59,081		88.33%	483,890		85.77%	8,344,095		74.75%
Registered Electors		66,888			564,194			11,163,064

1989 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Nivithigala [20]			Ratnapura Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UNP		24,875	57.50%		196,323	57.89%		2,838,005	50.71%
	SLFP		17,457	40.35%		123,360	36.38%		1,785,369	31.90%
	USP		732	1.69%		17,323	5.11%		17,323	0.31%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		195	0.45%		2,116	0.62%		68,609	1.23%
Valid Votes		43,259		95.00%	339,122		94.37%	5,596,468		93.87%
Rejected Votes		2,277		5.00%	20,248		5.63%	365,563		6.13%
Total Polled		45,536		85.24%	359,370		78.60%	5,962,031		63.60%
Registered Electors		53,422			457,224			9,374,164

Demographics

Ethnicity

The Nivithigala Polling Division has a Sinhalese majority (83.5%) . In comparison, the Ratnapura Electoral District (which contains the Nivithigala Polling Division) has a Sinhalese majority (87.1%) ^[1]

Ethnicity in Nivithigala ^[1]

   Sinhalese (83.5%)

   Indian Tamil (8.3%)

   Sri Lankan Tamil (6.8%)

   Moor (1.3%)

  Other (0.1%)

Religion

The Nivithigala Polling Division has a Buddhist majority (83.4%) and a significant Hindu population (13.3%) . In comparison, the Ratnapura Electoral District (which contains the Nivithigala Polling Division) has a Buddhist majority (86.7%) ^[1]

Religion in Nivithigala ^[1]

   Buddhist (83.4%)

   Hindu (13.3%)

   Muslim (1.5%)

   Roman Catholic (1.1%)

  Other (0.6%)

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 Nivithigala 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 Nivithigala 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.
5. "2015 Sri Lankan presidential election Results". elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2015.
6. "2010 Sri Lankan presidential election Results". elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2010.
7. "2005 Sri Lankan presidential election Results". elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2005.
8. "1999 Sri Lankan presidential election Results". elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 1999.
9. "1994 Sri Lankan presidential election Results". elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 1994.
10. "1988 Sri Lankan presidential election Results". elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 1988.
11. "1982 Sri Lankan presidential election Results". elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 1982.
12. The mean absolute error, between the percentages of votes each party got in Nivithigala 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 Nivithigala 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.