Elections in Sri Lanka
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Sri Lanka elects on the national level a head of state – the president – and a legislature. Sri Lanka has a multi-party system, with two dominant political parties. All elections are administered by the Election Commission of Sri Lanka.
President
[edit]The president is directly elected for a five-year term, through a version of Instant-runoff voting in which electors rank up to three candidates, and limited to only two rounds in total. If no candidate wins a majority in the first round of voting, second and third preferences from ballots whose first preference candidate has been eliminated are used to determine the winner.[1] However, there was never an instance where a "run-off" count was needed since the introduction of directly elected president in the 1980s until the 2024 election. No candidate reached 50% in the first count in that election, so the second count was performed.
Parliament
[edit]The Parliament has 225 members, elected for a five-year term, 196 members elected in multi-seat constituencies through proportional representation system where each party is allocated a number of seats from the quota for each district according to the proportion of the total vote that party obtains in the district. The other 29 which is called the national list are appointed by each party secretary according to the island wide proportional vote the party obtains.
Local Government
[edit]The Local government bodies in Sri Lanka;
are elected through the mixed electoral system.
Latest elections
[edit]2024 presidential election
[edit]| Candidate | Party | First preference | Total votes | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Votes | % | |||
| Anura Kumara Dissanayake | National People's Power | 5,634,915 | 42.31 | 5,740,179 | 55.89 | |
| Sajith Premadasa | Samagi Jana Balawegaya | 4,363,035 | 32.76 | 4,530,902 | 44.11 | |
| Ranil Wickremesinghe | Independent[a] | 2,299,767 | 17.27 | |||
| Namal Rajapaksa | Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna | 342,781 | 2.57 | |||
| P. Ariyanethiran | Independent | 226,343 | 1.70 | |||
| Dilith Jayaweera | Communist Party of Sri Lanka | 122,396 | 0.92 | |||
| K. K. Piyadasa | Independent | 47,543 | 0.36 | |||
| D. M. Bandaranayake | Independent | 30,660 | 0.23 | |||
| Sarath Fonseka | Independent | 22,407 | 0.17 | |||
| Wijeyadasa Rajapakshe | National Democratic Front | 21,306 | 0.16 | |||
| Anuruddha Polgampola | Independent | 15,411 | 0.12 | |||
| Sarath Keerthirathne | Independent | 15,187 | 0.11 | |||
| K. R. Krishan | Arunalu People's Front | 13,595 | 0.10 | |||
| Suranjeewa Anoj de Silva | Democratic United National Front | 12,898 | 0.10 | |||
| Priyantha Wickremesinghe | Nava Sama Samaja Party | 12,760 | 0.10 | |||
| Namal Rajapaksha | Samabima Party | 12,700 | 0.10 | |||
| Akmeemana Dayarathana Thero | Independent | 11,536 | 0.09 | |||
| Nuwan Bopege | Socialist People's Forum | 11,191 | 0.08 | |||
| Ajantha de Zoyza | Ruhunu People's Party | 10,548 | 0.08 | |||
| Victor Anthony Perera | Independent | 10,374 | 0.08 | |||
| Siripala Amarasinghe | Independent | 9,035 | 0.07 | |||
| Siritunga Jayasuriya | United Socialist Party | 8,954 | 0.07 | |||
| Battaramulle Seelarathana Thero | People's Welfare Front | 6,839 | 0.05 | |||
| Abubakar Mohamed Infaz | Democratic Unity Alliance | 6,531 | 0.05 | |||
| Pemasiri Manage | Independent | 5,822 | 0.04 | |||
| Mahinda Dewage | Socialist Party of Sri Lanka | 5,338 | 0.04 | |||
| Keerthi Wickremeratne | Our People's Power Party | 4,676 | 0.04 | |||
| Pani Wijesiriwardena | Socialist Equality Party | 4,410 | 0.03 | |||
| Oshala Herath | New Independent Front | 4,253 | 0.03 | |||
| Roshan Ranasinghe | Independent | 4,205 | 0.03 | |||
| P. W. S. K. Bandaranayake | National Development Front | 4,070 | 0.03 | |||
| Ananda Kularatne | Independent | 4,013 | 0.03 | |||
| Lalith de Silva | United National Freedom Front | 3,004 | 0.02 | |||
| Sidney Jayarathna | Independent | 2,799 | 0.02 | |||
| Janaka Ratnayake | United Lanka People's Party | 2,405 | 0.02 | |||
| M. Thilakarajah | Independent | 2,138 | 0.02 | |||
| Sarath Manamendra | New Sinhala Heritage | 1,911 | 0.01 | |||
| A. S. P. Liyanage | Sri Lanka Labour Party | 1,860 | 0.01 | |||
| Total | 13,319,616 | 100.00 | 10,271,081 | 100.00 | ||
| Valid votes | 13,319,616 | 97.80 | 10,271,081 | 75.41 | ||
| Invalid/blank votes | 300,300 | 2.20 | 3,348,835 | 24.59 | ||
| Total votes | 13,619,916 | 100.00 | 13,619,916 | 100.00 | ||
| Registered voters/turnout | 17,140,354 | 79.46 | 17,140,354 | 79.46 | ||
| Source: Election Commission of Sri Lanka [2] | ||||||
2024 parliamentary election
[edit]President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's National People's Power alliance won 159 of the 225 seats, securing a two-thirds majority in the Parliament. This surge in the NPP's seat count from three in the previous Parliament marks a shift in Sri Lankan politics. Reports suggest that Dissanayake's campaign focused on anti-corruption, social welfare, and economic revival amidst the country's economic crisis resonated with voters.[3][4][5]
In the north and east, a decrease in support amongst Tamil and Muslim voters for traditional ethnic parties were given to be the reason for the NPP's success.[3][6]
The main opposition alliance, Sajith Premadasa's Samagi Jana Balawegaya, won 40 seats, a decrease from the previous election. Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe's New Democratic Front secured 5 seats, while former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna collapsed from 145 seats in the previous election, winning 3 seats.[3][4]
National
[edit]District
[edit]| Districts won by NPP |
| Districts won by ITAK |
| District results for the 2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election[7] | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Province | Electoral District | NPP | SJB | ITAK | NDF | SLPP | Others | Total | Turnout | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Votes | % | Seats | Total Polled | Registered Electors | Seats | |||
| Western | Colombo | 788,636 | 68.63% | 14 | 208,249 | 18.12% | 4 | – | – | – | 51,020 | 4.44% | – | 34,880 | 3.04% | – | 66,340 | 5.47% | – | 1,211,738 | 1,765,351 | 18 | 68.64% |
| Western | Gampaha | 898,759 | 72.76% | 16 | 150,445 | 12.18% | 3 | – | – | – | 47,512 | 3.85% | – | 49,516 | 4.01% | – | 89,080 | 7.20% | – | 1,306,952 | 1,881,129 | 19 | 69.48% |
| Western | Kalutara | 452,398 | 66.09% | 8 | 128,932 | 18.84% | 2 | – | – | – | 34,257 | 5.00% | 1 | 27,072 | 3.96% | – | 41,833 | 6.11% | – | 721,461 | 1,024,244 | 11 | 70.44% |
| Central | Kandy | 500,596 | 64.60% | 9 | 145,939 | 18.83% | 2 | – | – | – | 50,889 | 6.57% | 1 | 15,762 | 2.03% | – | 61,729 | 7.97% | – | 61,012 | 1,191,399 | 12 | 70.16% |
| Central | Matale | 181,678 | 66.16% | 4 | 53,200 | 19.37% | 1 | – | – | – | 13,353 | 4.86% | – | 10,150 | 3.70% | – | 16,220 | 5.91% | – | 297,238 | 429,991 | 5 | 69.13% |
| Central | Nuwara Eliya | 161,167 | 41.57% | 5 | 101,589 | 26.21% | 2 | – | – | – | – | – | – | 6,123 | 1.58% | – | 118,686 | 30.64% | 1 | 429,851 | 605,292 | 8 | 71.02% |
| Southern | Galle | 406,428 | 68.07% | 7 | 93,486 | 15.66% | 1 | – | – | – | 30,453 | 5.10% | – | 31,201 | 5.23% | 1 | 35,523 | 8.94% | – | 620,165 | 903,163 | 9 | 68.67% |
| Southern | Matara | 317,541 | 69.83% | 6 | 74,475 | 16.38% | 1 | – | – | – | 31,009 | 6.82% | – | 9,432 | 2.07% | – | 22,277 | 4.90% | – | 476,407 | 686,175 | 7 | 69.43% |
| Southern | Hambantota | 234,083 | 66.38% | 5 | 52,170 | 14.79% | 1 | – | – | – | 18,297 | 5.19% | – | 26,268 | 7.45% | 1 | 17,039 | 6.19% | – | 369,700 | 520,940 | 7 | 70.97% |
| Northern | Jaffna | 80,830 | 24.85% | 3 | 15,276 | 4.70% | – | 63,327 | 19.47% | 1 | – | – | – | 582 | 0.18% | – | 165,297 | 50.80% | 2 | 358,079 | 593,187 | 6 | 60.37% |
| Northern | Vanni | 39,894 | 20.37% | 2 | 32,232 | 16.45% | 1 | 29,711 | 15.17% | 1 | – | – | – | 805 | 0.41% | – | 93,244 | 52.88% | 2 | 211,140 | 306,081 | 6 | 68.98% |
| Eastern | Batticaloa | 55,498 | 19.33% | 1 | 22,570 | 7.86% | – | 96,975 | 33.78% | 3 | 559 | 0.19% | – | 263 | 0.09% | – | 111,188 | 38.75% | 1 | 302,382 | 449,686 | 5 | 67.24% |
| Eastern | Ampara | 146,313 | 40.32% | 4 | 32,320 | 8.91% | – | 33,632 | 9.27% | 1 | 33,544 | 9.24% | – | 6,654 | 1.83% | – | 110,461 | 30.43% | 2 | 380,523 | 555,432 | 7 | 68.51% |
| Eastern | Trincomalee | 87,031 | 42.48% | 2 | 53,058 | 25.90% | 1 | 34,168 | 16.68% | 1 | 9,387 | 4.58% | – | 1,399 | 0.68% | – | 19,845 | 9.68% | – | 218,425 | 315,925 | 4 | 69.14% |
| North Western | Kurunegala | 651,476 | 69.56% | 12 | 189,394 | 20.22% | 3 | – | – | – | 30,073 | 3.21% | – | 35,236 | 3.76% | – | 30,436 | 3.25% | – | 978,927 | 1,417,226 | 15 | 69.07% |
| North Western | Puttalam | 239,576 | 63.10% | 6 | 65,679 | 17.30% | 2 | – | – | – | 15,741 | 4.15% | – | 14,624 | 3.85% | – | 44,061 | 11.60% | – | 410,853 | 663,673 | 8 | 61.91% |
| North Central | Anuradhapura | 331,692 | 67.22% | 7 | 98,176 | 19.90% | 2 | – | – | – | 29,961 | 6.07% | – | 11,248 | 2.28% | – | 29,115 | 4.53% | – | 522,533 | 741,862 | 9 | 70.44% |
| North Central | Polonnaruwa | 159,010 | 68.67% | 4 | 43,822 | 18.92% | 1 | – | – | – | 5,153 | 2.23% | – | 4,646 | 2.01% | – | 19,928 | 8.17% | – | 240,145 | 351,302 | 5 | 68.36% |
| Uva | Badulla | 275,180 | 58.59% | 6 | 102,958 | 21.92% | 2 | – | – | – | 36,450 | 7.76% | 1 | 11,255 | 2.40% | – | 43,863 | 9.33% | – | 503,724 | 705,772 | 9 | 71.37% |
| Uva | Monaragala | 174,730 | 64.27% | 5 | 62,014 | 22.81% | 1 | – | – | – | 10,697 | 3.93% | – | 11,624 | 4.28% | – | 12,791 | 4.71% | – | 12,991 | 399,166 | 6 | 71.36% |
| Sabaragamuwa | Ratnapura | 368,229 | 61.75% | 8 | 133,041 | 22.31% | 3 | – | – | – | 26,171 | 4.39% | – | 29,316 | 4.92% | – | 39,613 | 6.63% | – | 633,440 | 923,736 | 11 | 68.57% |
| Sabaragamuwa | Kegalle | 312,441 | 64.80% | 7 | 109,691 | 22.75% | 2 | – | – | – | 26,309 | 5.46% | – | 12,373 | 2.57% | – | 21,337 | 4.42% | – | 500,789 | 709,622 | 9 | 70.57% |
| National List | — | 18 | — | 5 | — | 1 | — | 2 | — | 1 | — | 2 | — | 29 | — | ||||||||
| Total | 6,863,186 | 61.56% | 159 | 1,968,716 | 17.66% | 40 | 257,813 | 2.31% | 8 | 500,835 | 4.49% | 5 | 350,429 | 3.14% | 3 | 1,207,027 | 10.22% | 10 | 11,815,246 | 17,140,354 | 225 | 68.93% | |
Seat changes
[edit]List of MPs who lost their seat
[edit]| District | Incumbent | Held since | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Member | Offices held | |||
| Kurunegala | SLPP[i] | Johnston Fernando[8] | Minister of Highways | 2000 | |
See also
[edit]Notes
[edit]- ^ Member of the United National Party officially running as independent, endorsed by the UNP and SLPP breakaway faction
- ^ Including the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna.
- ^ Alliance consisting of the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (which contested separately in one district, Ampara), the Freedom People's Congress, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Dayasiri wing), the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (which contested separately in two districts, Ampara and Batticaloa), and the Tamil Progressive Alliance (consisting of the National Union of Workers, the United Progressive Alliance, the Democratic People's Front and the Up-Country People's Front).
- ^ Alliance consisting of the Ceylon Workers' Congress (which contested under the symbol of the United National Party in Nuwara Eliya), the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, the National Unity Alliance, the National Congress, the New Lanka Freedom Party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Nimal wing), the Sri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (pro-Ranil wing), and the United National Party.
- ^ Alliance consisting of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, the Democratic Left Front, the Independent MPs Forum, the Mawbima Janatha Pakshaya and the Pivithuru Hela Urumaya.
- ^ Alliance consisting of the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front, the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam and the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization.
- ^ The Tamil National People's Front contested under the name and symbol of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress.
- ^ Alliance consisting of the Frontline Socialist Party and the New Democratic Marxist–Leninist Party.
- ^ Originally elected for the United National Party.
References
[edit]- ^ "IFES Election Guide | Elections: Sri Lanka Pres Jan 2010". www.electionguide.org. Retrieved 2023-12-21.
- ^ *For Presidential election results: "Presidential Election Results – 2024". Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 22 September 2024. Archived from the original on 7 November 2024. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
- For the all-island result: "Presidential Election 2024 – All island result – Without preferences" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 22 September 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- For the preference vote result: "Presidential Election 2024 – All island preferences result" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 22 September 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- For the final result: "Presidential Election 2024 – Final result" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 22 September 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 6 October 2024. Retrieved 6 October 2024.
- ^ a b c Warawita, Pamodi (15 November 2024). "Sri Lankan Leader's Leftist Coalition Wins Elections". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 20 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
- ^ a b Francis, Krishan; Mallawarachi, Bharatha (15 November 2024). "Party of Sri Lanka's new Marxist-leaning president wins two-thirds majority in parliament". AP News. Archived from the original on 18 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
- ^ "A resounding victory: On the Sri Lankan election result". The Hindu. 16 November 2024. Archived from the original on 16 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
- ^ Wipulasena, Aanya (16 November 2024). "'Need a change': Sri Lanka's leftist win sparks hopes, bridges old divides". Al Jazeera. Archived from the original on 19 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
- ^ a b * For a comprehensive list of election results: "Parliamentary Election 2024 Results". Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 15 November 2024. Archived from the original on 20 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
- For the all-island final result: "Parliamentary Election 2024/11/14 – All-island Result" (PDF). Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 15 November 2024. Archived (PDF) from the original on 20 November 2024. Retrieved 20 November 2024.
- ^ "2024 Parliament Election results : Sri Lanka's NPP confirms 2/3rds majority (LIVE)". Newswire. 14 November 2024. Retrieved 16 November 2024.
External links
[edit]- Department of Elections
- Adam Carr's Election Archive
- www.Srilankanelections.com[usurped] - A website featuring Sri Lankan elections and results.
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| Parliamentary | |
| Provincial | |
| Local | |
| Referendums | |
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| Parliamentary | |
| Provincial | |
| Local | |
| Referendums | |
