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List of parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka

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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]

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 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

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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.

List of legislative council elections: 1911–1924

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Main article: Legislative Council of Ceylon
Election year Legislative council Total seats Description
1911[a] First 21 11 official and 10 non-official members. Of the non-official members, 6 were appointed by the governor and the remaining 4 were elected.
1917 Second
1921[b] Third 37 14 official and 23 unofficial members. Of the non-official members, 4 were appointed by the governor and the remaining 19 were elected.
1924[c] Fourth 49 12 official and 37 unofficial members. Of the non-official members, 8 were appointed by the governor and the remaining 29 were elected.

List of state council elections: 1931–1936

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Main article: State Council of Ceylon
Election year Legislative council Total seats Description
1931 First 58 The 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 Second

List of parliamentary elections: 1947–2020

[edit]
Main articles: Parliament of Ceylon, National State Assembly, and Parliament of Sri Lanka
Election year Parliament Total seats Turnout The largest party Seats won by the largest party Margin of majority Percentage in the parliament Prime Minister
1947 First 95 55.81% United National Party 42 -6 44.21% D. S. Senanayake (1947–1952)[d]
Dudley Senanayake (1952)
1952 Second 70.70% United National Party 54 6 56.84% Dudley Senanayake (1952–1953)[e]
Sir John Kotelawala (1953–1956)
1956 Third 69.04% Mahajana Eksath Peramuna 51 3 53.68% S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike (1956–1959)[f]
Wijeyananda Dahanayake (1959–1960)
March 1960 Fourth 151 77.6% United National Party 50 -26 33.11% Dudley Senanayake
July 1960 Fifth 75.9% Sri Lanka Freedom Party 75 -1 49.67% Sirimavo Bandaranaike
1965 Sixth 81.13% United National Party 66 -10 43.71% Dudley Senanayake
1970 Seventh – Sri Lanka Freedom Party 91 15 60.26% Sirimavo Bandaranaike
1977[g] Eighth 168 – United National Party 140 55 83.33% J. R. Jayewardene (1977–1978)[h]
Ranasinghe Premadasa (1978–1989)[i]
1989[j] Nineth 225 63.60% United National Party 125 12 55.56% Dingiri Banda Wijetunga (1989–1993)[k]
Ranil Wickremesinghe (1993–1994)
1994 Tenth 76.24% People's Alliance 105 8 46.67% Chandrika Kumaratunga (1994)[l]
Sirimavo Bandaranaike (1994–2000)[m]
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake (2000)
2000 Eleventh 75.63% People's Alliance 107 6 47.56% Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
2001 Twelfth 76.03% United National Front 96 -17 42.67% Ranil Wickremesinghe
2004 Thirteenth 75.96% United People's Freedom Alliance 105 -8 46.67% Mahinda Rajapaksa (2004–2005)[n]
Ratnasiri Wickremanayake (2005–2010)
2010 Fourteenth 61.26% United People's Freedom Alliance 144 31 64% D. M. Jayaratne (2010–2015)[o]
Ranil Wickremesinghe (2015)[p]
2015 Fifteenth 77.66% United National Front 106 -7 47.11% Ranil Wickremesinghe (2015–2018)[q]
Mahinda Rajapaksa (2018)[r]
Ranil Wickremesinghe (2018–2019)[s]
Mahinda Rajapaksa (2019–2020)[t]
2020 Sixteenth 75.89% Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance 145 32 64.44% Mahinda Rajapaksa (2020–2022)[u]
Ranil Wickremesinghe (2022)[v][w]
Dinesh Gunawardena (2022–2024)[x]
Harini Amarasuriya (2024)[y]
2024 Seventeenth – TBD TBD TBD TBD TBD

Notes

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  1. ^ McCallum Reforms of 1910
  2. ^ 1st Manning Reforms of 1920
  3. ^ 2nd Manning Reforms of 1923
  4. ^ Died on 22 March 1952.
  5. ^ Resigned on 12 October 1953.
  6. ^ Assassinated on 26 September 1959.
  7. ^ The election was delayed until 1977 by using the 1972 Constitution, instead of holding it by 1975 as required under the old Soulbury Constitution.
  8. ^ Appointed as the 2nd president and the 1st executive president of Sri Lanka through a Constitutional amendment on 4 February 1978.
  9. ^ Elected as the 3rd president on 19 December 1988 and was sworn in on 2 January 1989.
  10. ^ The 1989 parliamentary election was the first since 1977, as the election due by 1983 had been cancelled by the 1982 referendum.
  11. ^ Elected unanimously by the parliament as the 4th president to complete the remainder of Ranasinghe Premadasa's term and was sworn in on 7 May 1993.
  12. ^ Elected as the 5th president on 9 November 1994 and was sworn in on 12 November 1994.
  13. ^ Resigned on 9 August 2000 due to health reasons.
  14. ^ Elected as the 6th president on 17 November 2005 and was sworn in on 19 November 2005.
  15. ^ Resigned on 9 January 2015.
  16. ^ Appointed as prime minister by President Maithripala Sirisena on 9 January 2015 following his victory in the 2015 presidential election.
  17. ^ Dismissed from office by President Maithripala Sirisena on 26 October 2018.
  18. ^ Appointed by Sirisena as the 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.
  19. ^ Restored as prime minister after the 2018 Sri Lankan constitutional crisis on 16 December 2018. Resigned in 2019.
  20. ^ Appointed as prime minister by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 21 November 2019 following his victory in the 2019 presidential election.
  21. ^ Resigned on 9 May 2022.
  22. ^ Appointed as prime minister by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on 12 May 2022.
  23. ^ Became the acting president on 14 July 2022 after Rajapaksa fled the country and resigned. Elected as the 10th president by the parliament on 20 July 2022 and was sworn in on 21 July 2022.
  24. ^ Appointed as prime minister by President Ranil Wickremesinghe on 22 July 2022. Resigned on 23 September 2024.
  25. ^ Appointed as prime minister by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on 24 September 2024 following his victory in the 2024 presidential election.

References

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  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.
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