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2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election

April 27, 2023

Parliamentary elections were held in Sri Lanka on 5 August 2020 to elect 225 members to Sri Lanka's 16th Parliament.[1][2][3] 16,263,885 people were eligible to vote in the election, 31.95% of whom were young voters.[4][5]

2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election
← 2015 5 August 2020 Next →
All 225 seats in the Parliament of Sri Lanka
113 seats needed for a majority
Turnout75.89% (1.77pp)
  First party Second party
 
Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa Sajith Premadasa
Party SLPFA SJB
Last election – –
Seats won 145 54
Seat change New New
Popular vote 6,853,690 2,771,980
Percentage 59.09% 23.90%
Swing New New
  Third party Fourth party
 
Leader R. Sampanthan Anura Kumara Dissanayaka
Party TNA NPP
Last election 16 seats 6 seats[a]
Seats won 10 3
Seat change 6 3
Popular vote 327,168 445,958
Percentage 2.82% 3.84%
Swing 1.80pp 1.03pp
Polling divisions won by

■ – SLPFA ■ – SJB ■ – TNA ■ – SLFP ■ – EPDP

■ – Other parties

The incumbent Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance coalition claimed a landslide victory in the election, winning 145 seats,[6][7][8] while Samagi Jana Balawegaya won 54 seats, Tamil National Alliance won 10 seats and National People's Power won 3 seats.[9][10][11] The main opposition United National Party suffered the worst showing in its history following a split over party leadership, finishing in fourth place with only one seat.[12]

The election was postponed at least twice due to a surge in COVID-19 cases in the country, before the date was finalized as 5 August 2020.[13][14] Prior to the election, a coronavirus-proof mock election was conducted by the Election Commission in June 2020 as a trial run in order to comply with health guidelines.[15][16]

Initial reports revealed that the overall voter turnout was estimated at 70%, comparatively less than the turnout during the 2015 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, mainly due to the impact of COVID-19.[17] Vote counting started on 6 August 2020 at around 9 am.[18] The new parliament is expected to reconvene on 20 August 2020.[19][20]

In November 2018, the date was briefly moved forward by more than a year to 5 January 2019 after President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved parliament during a constitutional crisis and called for a snap election.[21] The Supreme Court later suspended the dissolution and ordered a halt to the snap election, effectively moving the election's date back to 2020.[22]

Electoral system

The Parliament has 225 members, elected for a five-year term. 196 members are elected in 22 multi-seat constituencies through a 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 are elected from the national list, with list members appointed by each party secretary according to the island wide proportional vote the party obtains.

Contesting parties

The main parties and alliances contesting in the election included the alliance of Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapakse, the ruling Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance (SLPFA), the main opposition United National Party (UNP) of Ranil Wickremasinghe, Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) of Sajith Premadasa, former opposition TNA of R. Sampanthan and National People's Power (NPP) of Anura Kumara Dissanayaka. President Gotabaya was previously elected president in November 2019.

Samagi Jana Balawegaya, a breakaway faction from the United National Party, was formed by Sajith Premadasa in February 2020 following a rift and creative differences between Sajith and Ranil Wickremasinghe regarding the leadership of the UNP.[23][24][25] The party itself claimed a position as a main opposition party prior to the election despite being newly formed.[26]

Development

On 19 March 2020, Chairman of the Election Commission Mahinda Deshapriya revealed that the election would be postponed indefinitely due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[27][28] The Sri Lankan government initially insisted that scheduled forthcoming the election would proceed as planned on 25 April despite the COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka, and the authorities banned election rallies and meetings.[29] During the video conference with SAARC leaders, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa initially confirmed that the parliamentary elections would be held as scheduled.[30] Even with the president's comments holding the elections as scheduled, the Election Commission in Sri Lanka put off the date to 20 June 2020, using its powers.[31] This created a crisis between the president's office and the Constitution, and the matter went to the courts.[32][33]

On 10 June 2020, Election Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya confirmed that the postponed parliamentary elections would be held on 5 August 2020 with strict health measures and guidelines.[34][35][36]

According to various sources, vote turnout initially had a slow start, mainly due to the virus fears, but started to pick up gradually in late morning.[37][38] This was the first Sri Lankan general election held amid a disease outbreak;[39] the Election Commission recommended that voters bring their own blue or black ballpoint pen in order to make the proceedings easier along with precautionary distancing guidelines.[40][41] The authorities also required that voters wear face masks and use hand sanitizer upon entering and exiting polling stations.[42][43]

On election day, Election Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya cast his vote by visiting the polling station rather than opting for a postal vote. This also marked his first voting appearance in a polling station in nine years.[44] Approximately 82,000 security personnel and more than 60,000 health officials were deployed during the election.[45] The Colombo Stock Exchange was closed early at around 12:30 pm.[46]

Exit poll opinions

Initial exit poll reports and opinions stated that the ruling SLPFA were favourites to emerge victorious in the elections, mainly owing to the predominant success in curbing the COVID-19 pandemic and due to the negative publicity about the UNP-led government, which was accused of a major intelligence failure which was triggered by the aftermath of the 2019 Easter attacks.[47][48]

Election campaigns

The candidates were reported to have spent 2.2 billion rupees during the election campaign, with SJB being reported to have spent a higher amount compared to other parties. Campaigns were mostly arranged by the candidates on social media platforms such as Facebook, due to the ban on public gatherings owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.[49][50][51] In June 2020, UNP became the first party to launch the digital election campaign.[52]

Sri Lanka's treasury department issued 8.5 billion rupees to the election department for election expenditures. In July 2020, President Gotabaya of SLPFA was awarded the Zero carbon certificate for conducting his election campaign representing SLPFA in eco-friendly manner.[53] His election campaign also became the first zero carbon election campaign in the world.[54]

SLPP's political campaign was primarily based on economic revival as well making changes to the constitution, including amending the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution, controversially passed following the 2015 parliamentary election.[55] Rajapaksa brothers were critical of the 19th amendment as it reduced the major powers of the executive President.[citation needed]

All election campaigns were restricted on 2 August 2020 by the Election Commissioner.[56][57]

Timeline

2018
  • 9 November 2018 – President Maithripala Sirisena dissolves parliament and calls general elections to be held on 5 January 2019.[58]
  • 13 December 2018 – The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka ruled unanimously that President Maithripala Sirisena's order to dissolve Parliament and hold new elections was unconstitutional.[59]
  • 16 December 2018 – Ranil Wickramasinghe was sworn back in as Prime Minister after the Supreme Court ruled that Mahinda Rajapaksa can not act as Prime Minister.[60][61]
2019
2020
  • 30 January 2020 – United National Party working committee approves Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa as its Prime Minister candidate.[63]
  • 10 February 2020 – Leader of the opposition Sajith Premadasa forms a new alliance called Samagi Jana Balawegaya following the rift between him and United National Party leader Ranil Wickremasinghe due to political creative differences.[64][65]
  • 17 February 2020 – Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance registered under the leadership of Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena named as chairperson.[66]
  • 3 March 2020 – The President dissolved Parliament, with elections set on 25 April 2020 and the nomination period ending 18 March.[67]
  • 19 March 2020 – Election Commission postpones the elections without announcing a new date due to the COVID-19 pandemic.[68]
  • 3 April 2020 – Elections Commission write to the president asking him to see advise for a new date or make an alternative since they are unable to hold the elections as per the Gazette.[69]
  • 9 April 2020 – President's Secretary PB Jayasundara response to the commission that president will not get any advice from the courts on the elections, and it is the commissions' responsibility to hold the elections, warning of Constitutional Crisis.[70]
  • 20 April 2020 – Election Commission of Sri Lanka declared 20 June 2020 as the date of elections, after a member of commission Professor Ratnajeevan Hoole object to hold the election on 28 May 2020 with the government influence.[71][72]
  • 5 May 2020 – Newspaper editor Victor Ivan and seven others filed a Fundamental Rights petition in Supreme Court seeking an order quashing the Extraordinary Gazette notification declaring the General Election on 20 June.[73]
  • 6 May 2020 – Samagi Jana Balawegaya files a Fundamental Rights petition challenging the Gazette notification issued by the Elections Commission declaring the General Election to be held on 20 June.[74]
  • 9 May 2020 – Champika Ranawaka of Jathika Hela Urumaya and Kumara Welgama of the New Lanka Freedom Party file a Fundamental Rights petition challenging the Gazette notification issued by the Elections Commission declaring the General Election to be held on 20 June.[75]
  • 18 May 2020 – Supreme Court's five-member judge bench started hearing 8 petitions against the 20 June general election date.[76]
  • 20 May 2020 – Elections Commission inform the Supreme court that 20 June fix date is no longer a possible date for the election.[77]
  • 22 May 2020 – Attorney General requests the supreme court to dismiss petitions submitted in relation to the general election without hearings.[78]
  • 2 June 2020 – The Supreme Court dismissed all Fundamental Rights petitions filed and denied granting leave to proceed with all petitions.[79]
  • 10 June 2020 – Election Commission announces 5 August 2020 as the new date of elections.[80]
  • 30 July 2020 – All election campaigning and propaganda activities for the Parliamentary Election 2020 must end at midnight on 2 August, the Elections Commission announced.[81][82]
  • 10 August 2020 – Gotabaya Rajapaksa announces that the Subject Ministers and State Ministers are scheduled to be sworn in at the Magul Maduwa on 12 August 2020.[83]

Background

During the constitutional crisis in 2018, Sirisena dissolved parliament and ordered a snap election after his nominee for Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapaksa, failed to gain a majority in Parliament to back his nomination.[21]

However, after the constitutionality of the dissolution was challenged before Sri Lanka's Supreme Court, the dissolution was suspended, and the snap election was put on hold while the court case was ongoing. On 13 December 2018, the Supreme Court ruled the dissolution of the parliament unconstitutional, moving the election back to its original date.[84]

On 19 March 2020, the Election Commission postponed the elections without announcing a new date due to the COVID−19 pandemic.[68] On 20 May 2020, the Election Commission informed that the Supreme Court clarified a fix date 20 June 2020 for the election.[77] On 10 June 2020, Election Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya confirmed that the postponed parliamentary elections were to be held on 5 August 2020. On 17 July 2020, the Ministry of Health, Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine issued a gazette regarding the health guidelines for the election after a long delay.[85]

COVID-19

Main article: COVID-19 pandemic in Sri Lanka

On 19 March 2020, Sri Lanka reported an increase in cases from the COVID-19 pandemic, but the government went ahead with nominations for the election until 18 March 2020.[86] On 19 March, soon after the nominations ended, the Elections Commission with its powers postponed the elections.[68] The proposed date which was initially mentioned as 25 April 2020 was pushed back until 20 June 2020 due to the virus outbreak, and was later postponed further to its final date. Sri Lanka also joined countries such as Poland, South Korea, Singapore, Syria and Serbia to have held the elections in the middle of the COVID-19 pandemic.[87][88] Sri Lanka is also the first South Asian nation to hold elections in the middle of the pandemic.[89]

The health authorities also made special arrangements regarding the safety of the voters by disinfecting the polling station including the internal and external booths of the station with sanitizers prior to the election.[90]

Election violations

Around 340 minor incidents were reported regarding the election violations according to the survey of the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence. It reported around 167 cases of illegal campaigning, 59 cases of intimidation, 24 cases of illegal poster cutouts and some cases regarding health guidelines violations. SLPFA party recorded the highest number of complaints around 161, while SJB recorded complaints of 40 and 18 complaints were recorded against the UNP.[91]

Alleged manipulation attempts

Candidate Sashikala Raviraj accused Jaffna District candidate M. A. Sumanthiran who was representing Tamil National Alliance of misconduct during the preference vote count in the Jaffna District and being seated inside the vote counting centre after the conclusion of the parliamentary election in contrast to the regulations as candidates are restricted from entering the counting centre during the process of counting votes after the election.[92] However Center for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) noted that the claims of manipulation are false and is driven by social media misinformation and ignorance of the counting process.[93] Sumanthiran denied the accusations noting that counting is done at different locations and brought to the electoral district's primary counting centre and that counting booth has agents from all parties who must provide their verification and agreement for the results to be finalised. Sumanthiran revealed that he was at his house during the counting and was not present in any counting centre and only visited the announcement area when the results were going to be released and that other candidates including Sashikala Raviraj were also present and spoke with the Returning Officer.[94][95]

Allegations of unlawful action against the UNP

The SJB accused the head of the UNP, Ranil Wickremesinghe, of attempting to save his seat in the parliament through preference votes and SJB claimed that the UNP didn't attain at least 5% of the total votes in order to secure a national seat in the parliament.[96][97]

Electoral system

196 MPs were elected from 22 multi-member electoral districts using the D'Hondt method with an open list, a proportional representation system (with a de facto threshold that is on average 11%).[98][99] The remaining 29 seats were allocated to contesting parties and independent groups in proportion to their share of the national vote.[100][101] The electoral commission announced that voters can vote for one main party and can cast votes to a maximum of 3 individuals as preferential votes.[102]

Results

The first official results were released on 6 August 2020 in the afternoon starting with the postal votes in the Galle District.[103]

The SLPFA became the largest group in Parliament after securing 59.09% of votes and 145 seats, winning in 18 electoral districts, whilst the main opposition SJB won 23.90% of votes and 54 seats.[104][105][106] The SLPFA managed to exceed the majority cutoff of 113, obtaining 128 seats from districts and 17 seats from the national list, for a total of 145 seats.[107] The result is expected to further increase the influence the Rajapaksa family has over Sri Lankan politics, and the SLPFA only requires five seats from collaborating smaller parties to reach the majority needed to enact constitutional changes, including some that may overturn amendments enacted in 2015 (which included strengthening the role of Parliament and the Prime Minister, as well as putting independent commissions in charge of judiciary appointments, police, public services and the conduct of elections). A total of four other members of the Rajapaksa family (aside from Mahinda) were elected as MPs, including his son Namal, his eldest brother Chamal and his son Sashindra, and his nephew, Nipuna Ranawaka.[108] The SJB, which received second highest number of votes and seats in the election, is set to dethrone the UNP as the main opposition party of the country despite being newly formed following a split over disagreements on party leadership.[109][110] Parties aligned with the Tamil minority lost a few seats, likely weakening their influence and putting into doubt any progress toward their desire for autonomy within a federal state.

The Election Commission revealed that Mahinda Rajapaksa received the highest number of preferential votes during the election with 527,364 votes.[111]

 
PartyVotes%Seats
DistrictNationalTotal+/–
Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance[i]6,853,69059.0912817145+50
Samagi Jana Balawegaya[ii]2,771,98023.9047754New
National People's Power[iii]445,9583.84213–3
Tamil National Alliance[iv]327,1682.829110–6
United National Party249,4352.15011–105
Tamil National People's Front[v]67,7660.58112+2
Our Power of People's Party[vi]67,7580.58011+1
Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal67,6920.58101+1
Sri Lanka Freedom Party66,5790.57101+1
Eelam People's Democratic Party61,4640.53202+1
Muslim National Alliance[vii]55,9810.48101+1
Tamil People's National Alliance[viii]51,3010.44101+1
All Ceylon Makkal Congress43,3190.37101+1
National Congress39,2720.34101+1
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress34,4280.301010
United Peace Alliance31,0540.270000
All Lanka Tamil Mahasabha30,0310.260000
National Development Front14,6860.130000
Frontline Socialist Party14,5220.130000
Social Democratic Party of Tamils11,4640.100000
Tamil United Liberation Front9,8550.080000
Socialist Party of Sri Lanka9,3680.080000
People's Welfare Front7,3610.060000
Sinhalese National Front5,0560.040000
New Democratic Front4,8830.040000
United Left Front4,8790.040000
Liberal Party of Sri Lanka4,3450.040000
National People's Party3,8130.030000
Democratic United National Front3,6110.030000
National Democratic Front3,4880.030000
Sri Lanka Labour Party3,1340.030000
Democratic Left Front2,9640.030000
New Sinhala Heritage1,3970.010000
United Socialist Party1,1890.010000
Motherland People's Party1,0870.010000
Eelavar Democratic Front1,0350.010000
Socialist Equality Party7800.010000
Lanka Sama Samaja Party7370.010000
All Are Citizens All Are Kings Organization6320.010000
Democratic Unity Alliance1450.000000
Independents223,6221.930000
Total11,598,929100.00196292250
Valid votes11,598,92993.97
Invalid/blank votes744,3736.03
Total votes12,343,302100.00
Registered voters/turnout16,263,88575.89
Source: Election Commission
  1. ^ The SLPFA contested under the name and symbol of SLPP. The alliance consisted of the Ceylon Workers' Congress, Mahajana Eksath Peramuna, National Congress (which contested separately in two districts, Ampara and Polonnaruwa), the National Freedom Front, Pivithuru Hela Urumaya, the Socialist Alliance (consisting of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, the Democratic Left Front (which contested separately in two districts, Jaffna and Vanni), the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (which contested separately in one district, Jaffna), the National Liberation People's Party and the Sri Lanka People's Party), the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (which contested separately in three districts, Jaffna, Kalutara and Nuwara Eliya) and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna).
  2. ^ Alliance consisting of the All Ceylon Makkal Congress (which contested separately in one district, Ampara), Jathika Hela Urumaya, the New Lanka Freedom Party, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (which contested separately in one district, Batticaloa), 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) and the United National Party (Sajith wing).
  3. ^ Including Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna.
  4. ^ The alliance contested under the name and symbol of Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi. It consisted of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi, the People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam and the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization.
  5. ^ Including the All Ceylon Tamil Congress.
  6. ^ Including Bodu Bala Sena.
  7. ^ Consisting of the All Ceylon Makkal Congress, Muslim National Alliance and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress.
  8. ^ Consisting of the Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front, the Eelam Tamil Self Rule Party, the Tamil National Party and the Tamil People's Alliance.

By district

Districts won by SJB
Districts won by SLPFA
Districts won by TNA
District results for the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election[112][113][114]
Electoral
District		 Province SLPFA SJB TNA NPP Others Total Turnout
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
Ampara Eastern 126,012 32.65% 3 102,274 26.50% 2 25,255 6.54% 0 5,060 1.31% 0 127,396 33.00% 2 385,997 100.00% 7 78.28%
Anuradhapura North Central 344,458 67.95% 7 119,788 23.63% 2 - - - 24,492 4.83% 0 18,164 3.58% 0 506,902 100.00% 9 78.19%
Badulla Uva 309,538 62.06% 6 144,290 28.93% 3 - - - 19,308 3.87% 0 25,659 5.14% 0 498,795 100.00% 9 80.43%
Batticaloa Eastern 33,424 11.22% 1 28,362 9.52% 0 79,460 26.66% 2 348 0.12% 0 156,418 52.49% 2 298,012 100.00% 5 76.83%
Colombo Western 674,603 57.04% 12 387,145 32.73% 6 - - - 67,600 5.72% 1 53,428 4.52% 0 1,182,776 100.00% 19 73.94%
Galle Southern 430,334 70.54% 7 115,456 18.93% 2 - - - 29,963 4.91% 0 34,299 5.62% 0 610,052 100.00% 9 74.43%
Gampaha Western 807,896 65.76% 13 285,809 23.27% 4 - - - 61,833 5.03% 1 72,936 5.94% 0 1,228,474 100.00% 18 73.01%
Hambantota Southern 280,881 75.10% 6 51,758 13.84% 1 - - - 31,362 8.39% 0 10,016 2.68% 0 374,017 100.00% 7 79.68%
Jaffna Northern - - - 13,564 3.78% 0 112,967 31.46% 3 853 0.24% 0 231,746 64.53% 4 359,130 100.00% 7 68.92%
Kalutara Western 448,699 64.08% 8 171,988 24.56% 2 - - - 33,434 4.77% 0 46,135 6.59% 0 700,256 100.00% 10 76.79%
Kandy Central 477,446 58.76% 8 234,523 28.86% 4 - - - 22,997 2.83% 0 77,612 9.55% 0 812,578 100.00% 12 77.02%
Kegalle Sabaragamuwa 331,573 66.29% 7 131,317 26.25% 2 - - - 14,033 2.81% 0 23,284 4.65% 0 500,207 100.00% 9 76.70%
Kurunegala North Western 649,965 66.92% 11 244,860 25.21% 4 - - - 36,290 3.74% 0 40,128 4.13% 0 971,243 100.00% 15 75.45%
Matale Central 188,779 65.53% 4 73,955 25.67% 1 - - - 7,542 2.62% 0 17,797 6.18% 0 288,073 100.00% 5 76.69%
Matara Southern 352,217 73.63% 6 72,740 15.21% 1 - - - 37,136 7.76% 0 16,286 3.40% 0 478,379 100.00% 7 75.95%
Monaragala Uva 208,193 74.12% 5 54,147 19.28% 1 - - - 11,429 4.07% 0 7,116 2.53% 0 280,885 100.00% 6 80.93%
Nuwara Eliya Central 230,389 54.47% 5 132,008 31.21% 3 - - - 5,043 1.19% 0 55,537 13.13% 0 422,977 100.00% 8 80.49%
Polonnaruwa North Central 180,847 73.66% 4 47,781 19.46% 1 - - - 6,792 2.77% 0 10,099 4.11% 0 245,519 100.00% 5 78.99%
Puttalam North Western 220,566 57.26% 5 80,183 20.81% 2 - - - 9,944 2.58% 0 74,528 19.35% 1 385,221 100.00% 8 67.47%
Ratnapura Sabaragamuwa 446,668 68.86% 8 155,759 24.01% 3 - - - 17,611 2.72% 0 28,576 4.41% 0 648,614 100.00% 11 77.38%
Trincomalee Eastern 68,681 32.25% 1 86,394 40.56% 2 39,570 18.58% 1 2,226 1.05% 0 16,121 7.57% 0 212,992 100.00% 4 78.62%
Vanni Northern 42,524 20.46% 1 37,883 18.23% 1 69,916 33.64% 3 662 0.32% 0 56,852 27.35% 1 207,837 100.00% 6 78.34%
National List 17 7 1 1 3 29
Total 6,853,693 59.09% 145 2,771,984 23.90% 54 327,168 2.82% 10 445,958 3.84% 3 1,200,133 10.35% 13 11,598,936 100.00% 225 75.89%

Swearing-in

Mahinda Rajapaksa was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for the fourth time on 9 August 2020 at Kelaniya Temple on the outskirts of Colombo.[115][116]

International reactions

Nations

  •   India – Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi phoned Mahinda Rajapaksa and congratulated his party for the election win.[117]
  •   United States – The US embassy issued a statement congratulating the SLPP for the victory and praised the smooth as well as peaceful conduct of the election.[118]
  •   Vietnam – Prime Minister of Vietnam congratulated Mahinda Rajapaksa[119]
  •     Nepal – Prime Minister of Nepal congratulated Mahinda Rajapaksa[120]
  •   Maldives – President of Maldives congratulated Mahinda Rajapaksa[121]
  •   Bangladesh – Prime Minister of Bangladesh congratulated Mahinda Rajapaksa[122]
  •   Russia – Prime Minister of Russia congratulated Mahinda Rajapaksa[123]
  •   Singapore – Prime Minister of Singapore congratulated Mahinda Rajapaksa[124]
  •   Iran – President of Iran congratulated Mahinda Rajapaksha[125]

Notes

  1. ^ Represents seats won by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) at the 2015 parliamentary election.

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External links

  • Parliament of Sri Lanka
  • Department of Elections, Sri Lanka

April 27, 2023
2020, lankan, parliamentary, election, parliamentary, elections, were, held, lanka, august, 2020, elect, members, lanka, 16th, parliament, people, were, eligible, vote, election, whom, were, young, voters, 2015, august, 2020, next, outgoing, memberselected, me. Parliamentary elections were held in Sri Lanka on 5 August 2020 to elect 225 members to Sri Lanka s 16th Parliament 1 2 3 16 263 885 people were eligible to vote in the election 31 95 of whom were young voters 4 5 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election 2015 5 August 2020 Next outgoing memberselected members All 225 seats in the Parliament of Sri Lanka113 seats needed for a majorityTurnout75 89 1 77pp First party Second party Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa Sajith PremadasaParty SLPFA SJBLast election Seats won 145 54Seat change New NewPopular vote 6 853 690 2 771 980Percentage 59 09 23 90 Swing New New Third party Fourth party Leader R Sampanthan Anura Kumara DissanayakaParty TNA NPPLast election 16 seats 6 seats a Seats won 10 3Seat change 6 3Popular vote 327 168 445 958Percentage 2 82 3 84 Swing 1 80pp 1 03ppPolling divisions won by SLPFA SJB TNA SLFP EPDP Other partiesPrime Minister before electionMahinda RajapaksaSLPFA Prime Minister after election Mahinda RajapaksaSLPFAThe incumbent Sri Lanka People s Freedom Alliance coalition claimed a landslide victory in the election winning 145 seats 6 7 8 while Samagi Jana Balawegaya won 54 seats Tamil National Alliance won 10 seats and National People s Power won 3 seats 9 10 11 The main opposition United National Party suffered the worst showing in its history following a split over party leadership finishing in fourth place with only one seat 12 The election was postponed at least twice due to a surge in COVID 19 cases in the country before the date was finalized as 5 August 2020 13 14 Prior to the election a coronavirus proof mock election was conducted by the Election Commission in June 2020 as a trial run in order to comply with health guidelines 15 16 Initial reports revealed that the overall voter turnout was estimated at 70 comparatively less than the turnout during the 2015 Sri Lankan parliamentary election mainly due to the impact of COVID 19 17 Vote counting started on 6 August 2020 at around 9 am 18 The new parliament is expected to reconvene on 20 August 2020 19 20 In November 2018 the date was briefly moved forward by more than a year to 5 January 2019 after President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved parliament during a constitutional crisis and called for a snap election 21 The Supreme Court later suspended the dissolution and ordered a halt to the snap election effectively moving the election s date back to 2020 22 Contents 1 Electoral system 2 Contesting parties 3 Development 4 Exit poll opinions 5 Election campaigns 6 Timeline 7 Background 8 COVID 19 9 Election violations 9 1 Alleged manipulation attempts 9 2 Allegations of unlawful action against the UNP 10 Electoral system 11 Results 11 1 By district 12 Swearing in 13 International reactions 13 1 Nations 14 Notes 15 References 16 External linksElectoral system EditThe Parliament has 225 members elected for a five year term 196 members are elected in 22 multi seat constituencies through a 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 are elected from the national list with list members appointed by each party secretary according to the island wide proportional vote the party obtains Contesting parties EditThe main parties and alliances contesting in the election included the alliance of Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapakse the ruling Sri Lanka People s Freedom Alliance SLPFA the main opposition United National Party UNP of Ranil Wickremasinghe Samagi Jana Balawegaya SJB of Sajith Premadasa former opposition TNA of R Sampanthan and National People s Power NPP of Anura Kumara Dissanayaka President Gotabaya was previously elected president in November 2019 Samagi Jana Balawegaya a breakaway faction from the United National Party was formed by Sajith Premadasa in February 2020 following a rift and creative differences between Sajith and Ranil Wickremasinghe regarding the leadership of the UNP 23 24 25 The party itself claimed a position as a main opposition party prior to the election despite being newly formed 26 Development EditOn 19 March 2020 Chairman of the Election Commission Mahinda Deshapriya revealed that the election would be postponed indefinitely due to the COVID 19 pandemic 27 28 The Sri Lankan government initially insisted that scheduled forthcoming the election would proceed as planned on 25 April despite the COVID 19 pandemic in Sri Lanka and the authorities banned election rallies and meetings 29 During the video conference with SAARC leaders Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa initially confirmed that the parliamentary elections would be held as scheduled 30 Even with the president s comments holding the elections as scheduled the Election Commission in Sri Lanka put off the date to 20 June 2020 using its powers 31 This created a crisis between the president s office and the Constitution and the matter went to the courts 32 33 On 10 June 2020 Election Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya confirmed that the postponed parliamentary elections would be held on 5 August 2020 with strict health measures and guidelines 34 35 36 According to various sources vote turnout initially had a slow start mainly due to the virus fears but started to pick up gradually in late morning 37 38 This was the first Sri Lankan general election held amid a disease outbreak 39 the Election Commission recommended that voters bring their own blue or black ballpoint pen in order to make the proceedings easier along with precautionary distancing guidelines 40 41 The authorities also required that voters wear face masks and use hand sanitizer upon entering and exiting polling stations 42 43 On election day Election Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya cast his vote by visiting the polling station rather than opting for a postal vote This also marked his first voting appearance in a polling station in nine years 44 Approximately 82 000 security personnel and more than 60 000 health officials were deployed during the election 45 The Colombo Stock Exchange was closed early at around 12 30 pm 46 Exit poll opinions EditInitial exit poll reports and opinions stated that the ruling SLPFA were favourites to emerge victorious in the elections mainly owing to the predominant success in curbing the COVID 19 pandemic and due to the negative publicity about the UNP led government which was accused of a major intelligence failure which was triggered by the aftermath of the 2019 Easter attacks 47 48 Election campaigns EditThe candidates were reported to have spent 2 2 billion rupees during the election campaign with SJB being reported to have spent a higher amount compared to other parties Campaigns were mostly arranged by the candidates on social media platforms such as Facebook due to the ban on public gatherings owing to the COVID 19 pandemic 49 50 51 In June 2020 UNP became the first party to launch the digital election campaign 52 Sri Lanka s treasury department issued 8 5 billion rupees to the election department for election expenditures In July 2020 President Gotabaya of SLPFA was awarded the Zero carbon certificate for conducting his election campaign representing SLPFA in eco friendly manner 53 His election campaign also became the first zero carbon election campaign in the world 54 SLPP s political campaign was primarily based on economic revival as well making changes to the constitution including amending the Nineteenth Amendment to the Constitution controversially passed following the 2015 parliamentary election 55 Rajapaksa brothers were critical of the 19th amendment as it reduced the major powers of the executive President citation needed All election campaigns were restricted on 2 August 2020 by the Election Commissioner 56 57 Timeline Edit20189 November 2018 President Maithripala Sirisena dissolves parliament and calls general elections to be held on 5 January 2019 58 13 December 2018 The Supreme Court of Sri Lanka ruled unanimously that President Maithripala Sirisena s order to dissolve Parliament and hold new elections was unconstitutional 59 16 December 2018 Ranil Wickramasinghe was sworn back in as Prime Minister after the Supreme Court ruled that Mahinda Rajapaksa can not act as Prime Minister 60 61 201921 November 2019 Incumbent Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe resigns and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appoints his brother Mahinda Rajapakse as the new Prime Minister 62 202030 January 2020 United National Party working committee approves Leader of Opposition Sajith Premadasa as its Prime Minister candidate 63 10 February 2020 Leader of the opposition Sajith Premadasa forms a new alliance called Samagi Jana Balawegaya following the rift between him and United National Party leader Ranil Wickremasinghe due to political creative differences 64 65 17 February 2020 Sri Lanka People s Freedom Alliance registered under the leadership of Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena named as chairperson 66 3 March 2020 The President dissolved Parliament with elections set on 25 April 2020 and the nomination period ending 18 March 67 19 March 2020 Election Commission postpones the elections without announcing a new date due to the COVID 19 pandemic 68 3 April 2020 Elections Commission write to the president asking him to see advise for a new date or make an alternative since they are unable to hold the elections as per the Gazette 69 9 April 2020 President s Secretary PB Jayasundara response to the commission that president will not get any advice from the courts on the elections and it is the commissions responsibility to hold the elections warning of Constitutional Crisis 70 20 April 2020 Election Commission of Sri Lanka declared 20 June 2020 as the date of elections after a member of commission Professor Ratnajeevan Hoole object to hold the election on 28 May 2020 with the government influence 71 72 5 May 2020 Newspaper editor Victor Ivan and seven others filed a Fundamental Rights petition in Supreme Court seeking an order quashing the Extraordinary Gazette notification declaring the General Election on 20 June 73 6 May 2020 Samagi Jana Balawegaya files a Fundamental Rights petition challenging the Gazette notification issued by the Elections Commission declaring the General Election to be held on 20 June 74 9 May 2020 Champika Ranawaka of Jathika Hela Urumaya and Kumara Welgama of the New Lanka Freedom Party file a Fundamental Rights petition challenging the Gazette notification issued by the Elections Commission declaring the General Election to be held on 20 June 75 18 May 2020 Supreme Court s five member judge bench started hearing 8 petitions against the 20 June general election date 76 20 May 2020 Elections Commission inform the Supreme court that 20 June fix date is no longer a possible date for the election 77 22 May 2020 Attorney General requests the supreme court to dismiss petitions submitted in relation to the general election without hearings 78 2 June 2020 The Supreme Court dismissed all Fundamental Rights petitions filed and denied granting leave to proceed with all petitions 79 10 June 2020 Election Commission announces 5 August 2020 as the new date of elections 80 30 July 2020 All election campaigning and propaganda activities for the Parliamentary Election 2020 must end at midnight on 2 August the Elections Commission announced 81 82 10 August 2020 Gotabaya Rajapaksa announces that the Subject Ministers and State Ministers are scheduled to be sworn in at the Magul Maduwa on 12 August 2020 83 Background EditDuring the constitutional crisis in 2018 Sirisena dissolved parliament and ordered a snap election after his nominee for Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa failed to gain a majority in Parliament to back his nomination 21 However after the constitutionality of the dissolution was challenged before Sri Lanka s Supreme Court the dissolution was suspended and the snap election was put on hold while the court case was ongoing On 13 December 2018 the Supreme Court ruled the dissolution of the parliament unconstitutional moving the election back to its original date 84 On 19 March 2020 the Election Commission postponed the elections without announcing a new date due to the COVID 19 pandemic 68 On 20 May 2020 the Election Commission informed that the Supreme Court clarified a fix date 20 June 2020 for the election 77 On 10 June 2020 Election Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya confirmed that the postponed parliamentary elections were to be held on 5 August 2020 On 17 July 2020 the Ministry of Health Nutrition and Indigenous Medicine issued a gazette regarding the health guidelines for the election after a long delay 85 COVID 19 EditMain article COVID 19 pandemic in Sri Lanka On 19 March 2020 Sri Lanka reported an increase in cases from the COVID 19 pandemic but the government went ahead with nominations for the election until 18 March 2020 86 On 19 March soon after the nominations ended the Elections Commission with its powers postponed the elections 68 The proposed date which was initially mentioned as 25 April 2020 was pushed back until 20 June 2020 due to the virus outbreak and was later postponed further to its final date Sri Lanka also joined countries such as Poland South Korea Singapore Syria and Serbia to have held the elections in the middle of the COVID 19 pandemic 87 88 Sri Lanka is also the first South Asian nation to hold elections in the middle of the pandemic 89 The health authorities also made special arrangements regarding the safety of the voters by disinfecting the polling station including the internal and external booths of the station with sanitizers prior to the election 90 Election violations EditAround 340 minor incidents were reported regarding the election violations according to the survey of the Centre for Monitoring Election Violence It reported around 167 cases of illegal campaigning 59 cases of intimidation 24 cases of illegal poster cutouts and some cases regarding health guidelines violations SLPFA party recorded the highest number of complaints around 161 while SJB recorded complaints of 40 and 18 complaints were recorded against the UNP 91 Alleged manipulation attempts Edit Candidate Sashikala Raviraj accused Jaffna District candidate M A Sumanthiran who was representing Tamil National Alliance of misconduct during the preference vote count in the Jaffna District and being seated inside the vote counting centre after the conclusion of the parliamentary election in contrast to the regulations as candidates are restricted from entering the counting centre during the process of counting votes after the election 92 However Center for Monitoring Election Violence CMEV noted that the claims of manipulation are false and is driven by social media misinformation and ignorance of the counting process 93 Sumanthiran denied the accusations noting that counting is done at different locations and brought to the electoral district s primary counting centre and that counting booth has agents from all parties who must provide their verification and agreement for the results to be finalised Sumanthiran revealed that he was at his house during the counting and was not present in any counting centre and only visited the announcement area when the results were going to be released and that other candidates including Sashikala Raviraj were also present and spoke with the Returning Officer 94 95 Allegations of unlawful action against the UNP Edit The SJB accused the head of the UNP Ranil Wickremesinghe of attempting to save his seat in the parliament through preference votes and SJB claimed that the UNP didn t attain at least 5 of the total votes in order to secure a national seat in the parliament 96 97 Electoral system Edit196 MPs were elected from 22 multi member electoral districts using the D Hondt method with an open list a proportional representation system with a de facto threshold that is on average 11 98 99 The remaining 29 seats were allocated to contesting parties and independent groups in proportion to their share of the national vote 100 101 The electoral commission announced that voters can vote for one main party and can cast votes to a maximum of 3 individuals as preferential votes 102 Results EditThe first official results were released on 6 August 2020 in the afternoon starting with the postal votes in the Galle District 103 The SLPFA became the largest group in Parliament after securing 59 09 of votes and 145 seats winning in 18 electoral districts whilst the main opposition SJB won 23 90 of votes and 54 seats 104 105 106 The SLPFA managed to exceed the majority cutoff of 113 obtaining 128 seats from districts and 17 seats from the national list for a total of 145 seats 107 The result is expected to further increase the influence the Rajapaksa family has over Sri Lankan politics and the SLPFA only requires five seats from collaborating smaller parties to reach the majority needed to enact constitutional changes including some that may overturn amendments enacted in 2015 which included strengthening the role of Parliament and the Prime Minister as well as putting independent commissions in charge of judiciary appointments police public services and the conduct of elections A total of four other members of the Rajapaksa family aside from Mahinda were elected as MPs including his son Namal his eldest brother Chamal and his son Sashindra and his nephew Nipuna Ranawaka 108 The SJB which received second highest number of votes and seats in the election is set to dethrone the UNP as the main opposition party of the country despite being newly formed following a split over disagreements on party leadership 109 110 Parties aligned with the Tamil minority lost a few seats likely weakening their influence and putting into doubt any progress toward their desire for autonomy within a federal state The Election Commission revealed that Mahinda Rajapaksa received the highest number of preferential votes during the election with 527 364 votes 111 PartyVotes SeatsDistrictNationalTotal Sri Lanka People s Freedom Alliance i 6 853 69059 0912817145 50Samagi Jana Balawegaya ii 2 771 98023 9047754NewNational People s Power iii 445 9583 84213 3Tamil National Alliance iv 327 1682 829110 6United National Party249 4352 15011 105Tamil National People s Front v 67 7660 58112 2Our Power of People s Party vi 67 7580 58011 1Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal67 6920 58101 1Sri Lanka Freedom Party66 5790 57101 1Eelam People s Democratic Party61 4640 53202 1Muslim National Alliance vii 55 9810 48101 1Tamil People s National Alliance viii 51 3010 44101 1All Ceylon Makkal Congress43 3190 37101 1National Congress39 2720 34101 1Sri Lanka Muslim Congress34 4280 301010United Peace Alliance31 0540 270000All Lanka Tamil Mahasabha30 0310 260000National Development Front14 6860 130000Frontline Socialist Party14 5220 130000Social Democratic Party of Tamils11 4640 100000Tamil United Liberation Front9 8550 080000Socialist Party of Sri Lanka9 3680 080000People s Welfare Front7 3610 060000Sinhalese National Front5 0560 040000New Democratic Front4 8830 040000United Left Front4 8790 040000Liberal Party of Sri Lanka4 3450 040000National People s Party3 8130 030000Democratic United National Front3 6110 030000National Democratic Front3 4880 030000Sri Lanka Labour Party3 1340 030000Democratic Left Front2 9640 030000New Sinhala Heritage1 3970 010000United Socialist Party1 1890 010000Motherland People s Party1 0870 010000Eelavar Democratic Front1 0350 010000Socialist Equality Party7800 010000Lanka Sama Samaja Party7370 010000All Are Citizens All Are Kings Organization6320 010000Democratic Unity Alliance1450 000000Independents223 6221 930000Total11 598 929100 00196292250Valid votes11 598 92993 97Invalid blank votes744 3736 03Total votes12 343 302100 00Registered voters turnout16 263 88575 89Source Election Commission The SLPFA contested under the name and symbol of SLPP The alliance consisted of the Ceylon Workers Congress Mahajana Eksath Peramuna National Congress which contested separately in two districts Ampara and Polonnaruwa the National Freedom Front Pivithuru Hela Urumaya the Socialist Alliance consisting of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka the Democratic Left Front which contested separately in two districts Jaffna and Vanni the Lanka Sama Samaja Party which contested separately in one district Jaffna the National Liberation People s Party and the Sri Lanka People s Party the Sri Lanka Freedom Party which contested separately in three districts Jaffna Kalutara and Nuwara Eliya and Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna Alliance consisting of the All Ceylon Makkal Congress which contested separately in one district Ampara Jathika Hela Urumaya the New Lanka Freedom Party the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress which contested separately in one district Batticaloa 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 and the United National Party Sajith wing Including Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna The alliance contested under the name and symbol of Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi It consisted of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi the People s Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam and the Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization Including the All Ceylon Tamil Congress Including Bodu Bala Sena Consisting of the All Ceylon Makkal Congress Muslim National Alliance and the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress Consisting of the Eelam People s Revolutionary Liberation Front the Eelam Tamil Self Rule Party the Tamil National Party and the Tamil People s Alliance By district Edit Districts won by SJBDistricts won by SLPFADistricts won by TNADistrict results for the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election 112 113 114 ElectoralDistrict Province SLPFA SJB TNA NPP Others Total TurnoutVotes Seats Votes Seats Votes Seats Votes Seats Votes Seats Votes SeatsAmpara Eastern 126 012 32 65 3 102 274 26 50 2 25 255 6 54 0 5 060 1 31 0 127 396 33 00 2 385 997 100 00 7 78 28 Anuradhapura North Central 344 458 67 95 7 119 788 23 63 2 24 492 4 83 0 18 164 3 58 0 506 902 100 00 9 78 19 Badulla Uva 309 538 62 06 6 144 290 28 93 3 19 308 3 87 0 25 659 5 14 0 498 795 100 00 9 80 43 Batticaloa Eastern 33 424 11 22 1 28 362 9 52 0 79 460 26 66 2 348 0 12 0 156 418 52 49 2 298 012 100 00 5 76 83 Colombo Western 674 603 57 04 12 387 145 32 73 6 67 600 5 72 1 53 428 4 52 0 1 182 776 100 00 19 73 94 Galle Southern 430 334 70 54 7 115 456 18 93 2 29 963 4 91 0 34 299 5 62 0 610 052 100 00 9 74 43 Gampaha Western 807 896 65 76 13 285 809 23 27 4 61 833 5 03 1 72 936 5 94 0 1 228 474 100 00 18 73 01 Hambantota Southern 280 881 75 10 6 51 758 13 84 1 31 362 8 39 0 10 016 2 68 0 374 017 100 00 7 79 68 Jaffna Northern 13 564 3 78 0 112 967 31 46 3 853 0 24 0 231 746 64 53 4 359 130 100 00 7 68 92 Kalutara Western 448 699 64 08 8 171 988 24 56 2 33 434 4 77 0 46 135 6 59 0 700 256 100 00 10 76 79 Kandy Central 477 446 58 76 8 234 523 28 86 4 22 997 2 83 0 77 612 9 55 0 812 578 100 00 12 77 02 Kegalle Sabaragamuwa 331 573 66 29 7 131 317 26 25 2 14 033 2 81 0 23 284 4 65 0 500 207 100 00 9 76 70 Kurunegala North Western 649 965 66 92 11 244 860 25 21 4 36 290 3 74 0 40 128 4 13 0 971 243 100 00 15 75 45 Matale Central 188 779 65 53 4 73 955 25 67 1 7 542 2 62 0 17 797 6 18 0 288 073 100 00 5 76 69 Matara Southern 352 217 73 63 6 72 740 15 21 1 37 136 7 76 0 16 286 3 40 0 478 379 100 00 7 75 95 Monaragala Uva 208 193 74 12 5 54 147 19 28 1 11 429 4 07 0 7 116 2 53 0 280 885 100 00 6 80 93 Nuwara Eliya Central 230 389 54 47 5 132 008 31 21 3 5 043 1 19 0 55 537 13 13 0 422 977 100 00 8 80 49 Polonnaruwa North Central 180 847 73 66 4 47 781 19 46 1 6 792 2 77 0 10 099 4 11 0 245 519 100 00 5 78 99 Puttalam North Western 220 566 57 26 5 80 183 20 81 2 9 944 2 58 0 74 528 19 35 1 385 221 100 00 8 67 47 Ratnapura Sabaragamuwa 446 668 68 86 8 155 759 24 01 3 17 611 2 72 0 28 576 4 41 0 648 614 100 00 11 77 38 Trincomalee Eastern 68 681 32 25 1 86 394 40 56 2 39 570 18 58 1 2 226 1 05 0 16 121 7 57 0 212 992 100 00 4 78 62 Vanni Northern 42 524 20 46 1 37 883 18 23 1 69 916 33 64 3 662 0 32 0 56 852 27 35 1 207 837 100 00 6 78 34 National List 17 7 1 1 3 29Total 6 853 693 59 09 145 2 771 984 23 90 54 327 168 2 82 10 445 958 3 84 3 1 200 133 10 35 13 11 598 936 100 00 225 75 89 Swearing in EditMahinda Rajapaksa was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka for the fourth time on 9 August 2020 at Kelaniya Temple on the outskirts of Colombo 115 116 International reactions EditNations Edit India Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi phoned Mahinda Rajapaksa and congratulated his party for the election win 117 United States The US embassy issued a statement congratulating the SLPP for the victory and praised the smooth as well as peaceful conduct of the election 118 Vietnam Prime Minister of Vietnam congratulated Mahinda Rajapaksa 119 Nepal Prime Minister of Nepal congratulated Mahinda Rajapaksa 120 Maldives President of Maldives congratulated Mahinda Rajapaksa 121 Bangladesh Prime Minister of Bangladesh congratulated Mahinda Rajapaksa 122 Russia Prime Minister of Russia congratulated Mahinda Rajapaksa 123 Singapore Prime Minister of Singapore congratulated Mahinda Rajapaksa 124 Iran President of Iran congratulated Mahinda Rajapaksha 125 Notes Edit Represents seats won by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna JVP at the 2015 parliamentary election References Edit Sri Lankan parliament dissolved elections set for April Al Jazeera Retrieved 16 March 2020 General Election will be held on June 20 MSN Sri Lanka general elections 2020 LIVE UPDATES EconomyNext 5 August 2020 Retrieved 6 August 2020 permanent dead link Over 1 2 million new votes registered for Sri Lanka s upcoming polls EconomyNext 29 July 2020 Retrieved 6 August 2020 permanent dead link Sri Lanka s youth are unlikely to vote for the old guard in Parliament EconomyNext 28 July 2020 Retrieved 6 August 2020 permanent dead link Rajapaksas dominates South with landslide victory in Sri Lankan elections Tamil Guardian www tamilguardian com Retrieved 7 August 2020 Iqbal Athas and Helen Regan Sri Lanka s Mahinda Rajapaksa declares victory in parliamentary elections CNN Retrieved 7 August 2020 Sri Lanka Podujana Party wins 2020 general elections in a landslide EconomyNext 7 August 2020 Retrieved 7 August 2020 permanent dead link Rajapaksa declares election victory in Sri Lanka BBC News 7 August 2020 Retrieved 7 August 2020 Sri Lanka 2020 Parliamentary Election Results SLPP wins six seats in Matara district SJB one www colombopage com Retrieved 7 August 2020 Rajapaksa brothers win by landslide in Sri Lanka s election www aljazeera com Retrieved 7 August 2020 Sri Lanka ex PM s UNP polls less than 5 pct in declared Colombo seats EconomyNext 6 August 2020 Retrieved 7 August 2020 permanent dead link Sri Lanka prepares for twice delayed poll amid militarized COVID 19 response Global Voices Global Voices 21 June 2020 Retrieved 6 August 2020 Srinivasan Meera 13 July 2020 Lanka election body monitoring virus spike The Hindu ISSN 0971 751X Retrieved 7 August 2020 Sri Lanka holds coronavirus proof test vote BBC News 14 June 2020 Retrieved 6 August 2020 Sri Lanka to conduct advance polling for people under quarantine The New Indian Express Retrieved 7 August 2020 Sri Lanka 2020 general elections turnout lower steepest in Kurunegala EconomyNext 6 August 2020 Retrieved 6 August 2020 permanent dead link Sri Lanka counts votes from parliamentary elections www aljazeera com Retrieved 6 August 2020 New Parliament to meet on August 20 Daily News Retrieved 6 August 2020 New Parliament to meet on 20th of August 2020 Sri Lanka News Newsfirst 4 August 2020 Retrieved 7 August 2020 a b Bastians Dharisha Goel Vindu 9 November 2018 Sri Lanka President Dissolves Parliament Amid Power Struggle The New York Times Retrieved 26 November 2018 Sri Lanka Supreme Court overturns dissolution of parliament Al Jazeera and news agencies 13 November 2018 Retrieved 26 November 2018 Sacking pro SJB members from the UNP was long overdue Asst Leader RaviK EconomyNext 29 July 2020 Retrieved 7 August 2020 permanent dead link Abhayasinghe Shiromi SJB is a separate party Ranil Daily News Retrieved 7 August 2020 The UNP SJB and intra party democracy Daily FT www ft lk Retrieved 7 August 2020 SJB commits to people centric governance Daily FT www ft lk Retrieved 7 August 2020 Sri Lanka s General Election postponed till country is freed from COVID 19 NewsIn Asia 19 March 2020 Retrieved 19 March 2020 Sri Lanka s General Election postponed Until the polls Country comes under Election Commission Asian Tribune www asiantribune com Archived from the original on 19 March 2020 Retrieved 19 March 2020 President tells SAARC leaders April election will go ahead Colombo Gazette 15 March 2020 Retrieved 16 March 2020 Sri Lanka President tells SAARC leaders April election will go ahead menafn com Retrieved 16 March 2020 Sri Lanka election set for June 20 ending possible crisis Yahoo Sri Lankan Supreme Court told parliamentary election can be held on June 20 under health guidelines outlookindia com Sri Lanka election set for June 20 ending possible crisis WTOP 20 April 2020 Archived from the original on 26 April 2020 Retrieved 24 May 2020 Sri Lanka s parliamentary elections fixed for August 5 Sri Lanka News Newsfirst 10 June 2020 Retrieved 10 June 2020 Sri Lanka Parliamentary General Election to be held on Aug 5 EconomyNext 10 June 2020 Retrieved 10 June 2020 permanent dead link Sri Lanka s General Election on August 05 Adaderana Retrieved 15 June 2020 Sri Lanka general election voting picking up after slow start Colombo 26 pct officials officials EconomyNext 5 August 2020 Retrieved 5 August 2020 permanent dead link Sri Lanka Polling begins for Sri Lanka parliamentary elections amid coronavirus fears www colombopage com Retrieved 5 August 2020 Poetry for reflection on Sri Lanka s Election Day Daily FT www ft lk Retrieved 8 August 2020 Stay apart and bring a pen Sri Lanka goes to the polls during pandemic the Guardian 5 August 2020 Retrieved 5 August 2020 Sri Lanka Voters permitted to use their own pens at polls menafn com Retrieved 5 August 2020 Sri Lanka s election chief assures voter safety on eve of parliamentary election www xinhuanet com Retrieved 5 August 2020 Sri Lanka Parliamentary Elections 2020 Sri Lankans wearing masks flock to voting centres for parliament election The Times of India Reuters 5 August 2020 Retrieved 5 August 2020 Sri Lanka Elections Commissioner casts vote at polling station after 9 years EconomyNext 5 August 2020 Retrieved 5 August 2020 permanent dead link Sri Lanka Over 82 000 security personnel deployed to ensure peaceful election in Sri Lanka www colombopage com Retrieved 5 August 2020 Sri Lanka Colombo Stock Exchange to close early tomorrow for Election www colombopage com Retrieved 5 August 2020 Explained Why Rajapaksa clan is likely to win the Sri Lanka parliamentary polls The Indian Express 5 August 2020 Retrieved 5 August 2020 Opinion Sri Lanka ruling party is ahead with 12 days to go for Parliamentary polls EconomyNext 25 July 2020 Retrieved 5 August 2020 permanent dead link Polls 2020 SJB biggest spender SLPP has most election law violations CMEV EconomyNext 27 July 2020 Retrieved 6 August 2020 permanent dead link Candidates spend Rs 2 2 bn over Sri Lanka s polls campaign period EconomyNext 5 August 2020 Retrieved 6 August 2020 permanent dead link Sri Lankan SEP to hold online meeting to conclude its election campaign www wsws org Retrieved 6 August 2020 United National Party digital election campaign launched Daily News Retrieved 6 August 2020 President honoured for eco friendly election campaign Daily News Retrieved 6 August 2020 Sri Lanka Sri Lankan President honored for leading an eco friendly Presidential Election campaign www colombopage com Retrieved 6 August 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary elections Five key takeaways www aljazeera com Retrieved 7 August 2020 Sri Lanka All election campaigning and propaganda activities end midnight today www colombopage com Retrieved 6 August 2020 Final rallies Election campaigns ends tonight Daily News Retrieved 6 August 2020 Move to dissolve Sri Lanka s parliament BBC 9 November 2018 Sri Lanka Supreme Court says president violated constitution Yahoo News Ranil sworn back in as prime minister Tamil Guardian tamilguardian com Sri Lanka court denies Rajapakse authority to act as PM Yahoo Ranil Wickremesinghe to resign as Sri Lanka s prime minister Mahinda to take over Tamil Guardian tamilguardian com Sri Lanka UNP appoints Sajith as the leader of new alliance and Prime Ministerial candidate colombopage com Sajith s alliance to be named Samagi Jana Balawegaya with the heart as its symbol english theleader lk Why does Sri Lanka s parliamentary election matter www aljazeera com Archived from the original on 5 August 2020 Retrieved 5 August 2020 SLPP and SLFP to contest general election under new alliance with Mahinda as leader Adaderana Retrieved 15 June 2020 Sri Lankan Parliament dissolved elections on April 25 Hindustan Times 3 March 2020 a b c Sri Lanka s General Election postponed Adaderana Retrieved 15 June 2020 Sri Lankan election commission asks president to seek court opinion on parliamentary election delay ConstitutionNet President s Secretary responds to Election Commission on the warning of Constitutional Crisis lankanewsweb net Archived from the original on 7 May 2020 Retrieved 12 April 2020 Prof Hoole objects proposal to conduct poll on May 28 Sri Lanka News Newsfirst 20 April 2020 General Election will be held on June 20 MSN Victor Ivan and seven others file FR against General Election MSN Samagi Jana Balawegaya files petition against 20 June polls Colombo Gazette 6 May 2020 Champika and Welgama file petitions against polls Colombo Gazette 9 May 2020 Five member judge bench to hear FR petitions against elections date Adaderana Retrieved 15 June 2020 a b 1 dead link Sooriyagoda Lakmal AG requests court to dismiss petitions in limine Daily News SC dismisses petitions against polls date Elections back on track Sri Lanka News The Morning Sri Lanka News 6 June 2020 Retrieved 15 June 2020 Sri Lanka extends polling time for August parliamentary elections Retrieved 7 August 2020 Election campaign ends at midnight on Aug 2 and Voting Time was from 7am to 5pm announced dailynews Retrieved 30 July 2020 Election campaign ends at midnight on Aug 2 Daily News Retrieved 7 August 2020 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka President to swear in 28 minister cabinet Wednesday www colombopage com Retrieved 11 August 2020 Rasheed Zaheena Kuruwita Rathindra 13 December 2018 Sri Lanka s Supreme Court overturns sacking of parliament Al Jazeera Retrieved 14 December 2018 Sri Lanka Sri Lanka election monitor expresses concern over changing COVID 19 health guidelines for election campaigning www colombopage com Retrieved 5 August 2020 Sri Lanka Curfew in Puttalam area lifted temporarily for nomination process colombopage com Sri Lanka gears up for delayed polls amid pandemic Arab News 2 August 2020 Retrieved 5 August 2020 Sri Lanka s parliamentary elections will hold lessons for India s Election Commission ahead of Bihar polls The Indian Express 3 August 2020 Retrieved 5 August 2020 Sri Lanka s parliamentary elections Five things to know Nikkei Asian Review Retrieved 5 August 2020 Sri Lanka All polling centers to be disinfected today and tomorrow www colombopage com Retrieved 5 August 2020 SLPP leads the race in Sri Lanka s election law violations EconomyNext 6 August 2020 Retrieved 6 August 2020 permanent dead link TNA candidate demands investigation from EC and ITAK leader into controversial Jaffna recount www tamilguardian com Retrieved 7 August 2020 Weerasooriya Sahan Bloody rumpus at Jaffna Central College blamed by CMEV on lack of understanding of counting process Retrieved 15 August 2020 Claims of foul play over preferential vote count in Jaffna after late night recount Tamil Guardian www tamilguardian com Retrieved 7 August 2020 Vyshnavy 7 August 2020 Raviraj accuses Sumanthiran of manipulating final results Colombo Gazette Retrieved 7 August 2020 SJB claims Ranil making unlawful attempt to save seat Colombo Gazette 6 August 2020 Retrieved 7 August 2020 UNP lawyers attempting to count Ranil s preferential votes claims SJB EconomyNext 6 August 2020 Retrieved 7 August 2020 permanent dead link Blanc Jarrett Hylland Aanund Vollan Kare 2006 State Structure and Electoral Systems in Post Conflict Situations International Foundation for Electoral Systems p 106 ISBN 1 931459 17 7 Report of the Post Election Assessment of Sri Lanka Mission November 28 December 2 2000 PDF National Democratic Institute for International Affairs 28 December 2000 p 10 Archived from the original PDF on 3 March 2016 Retrieved 10 November 2018 Thilakarathne N M C 1997 Parliament Library of Sri Lanka In Brian Rob ed Parliamentary Libraries and Information Services of Asia and the Pacific Papers prepared for the 62nd IFLA Conference Beijing China August 25 31 1996 Walter de Gruyte p 87 ISBN 3 11 094763 3 Sri Lanka Parliament Inter Parliamentary Union Sri Lanka electors can vote for one party three preferences in 2020 general elections polls chief EconomyNext 4 August 2020 Retrieved 5 August 2020 First official result of parliamentary election released Sri Lanka News Newsfirst 6 August 2020 Retrieved 6 August 2020 SLPP sweeps polls and secures 145 seats SJB gets 54 Colombo Gazette 7 August 2020 Retrieved 7 August 2020 Sri Lanka election Rajapaksa clan heading for landslide win in Lanka polls The Indian Express 6 August 2020 Retrieved 7 August 2020 France Presse Agence 7 August 2020 Sri Lanka s Rajapaksa brothers strengthen grip in landslide election win the Guardian Agence France Presse Retrieved 7 August 2020 Abi Habib Maria 6 August 2020 Sri Lanka Vote Hands Rajapaksa Family a Bigger Slice of Control The New York Times ISSN 0362 4331 Retrieved 7 August 2020 Mahinda Rajapaksa sworn in as Sri Lanka s PM after record victory Al Jazeera 9 August 2020 Retrieved 9 August 2020 SJB ready for main Opposition role Daily FT www ft lk Retrieved 7 August 2020 SJB claims it is now the country s main Opposition Party EconomyNext 6 August 2020 Retrieved 7 August 2020 permanent dead link Sri Lanka Election Commission releases preferential list of elected candidates PM gets highest preferential votes www colombopage com Retrieved 8 August 2020 2020 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Elections Rajagiriya Sri Lanka Election Commission of Sri Lanka Archived from the original on 19 December 2019 Retrieved 7 August 2020 Parliamentary Election 2020 The Daily Mirror Colombo Sri Lanka Archived from the original on 6 August 2020 Retrieved 7 August 2020 Official Election Results Parliamentary Election 2020 Sri Lanka news lk Colombo Sri Lanka Department of Government Information Archived from the original on 8 August 2020 Retrieved 7 August 2020 Mahinda Rajapaksa takes oath as Sri Lankan Prime Minister The Indian Express 9 August 2020 Retrieved 9 August 2020 Mahinda Rajapaksa Sworn in as Sri Lanka s Prime Minister for 4th Time Cementing Family Rule News18 Retrieved 9 August 2020 Indian PM Modi telephones Mahinda and congratulates him Colombo Gazette 6 August 2020 Retrieved 7 August 2020 US congratulates Sri Lanka for holding peaceful poll amidst coronavirus Sri Lanka News Newsfirst 7 August 2020 Retrieved 7 August 2020 Congratulatory Message of the Prime Minister of Vietnam Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sri Lanka Retrieved 11 August 2020 Congratulatory Message of the Prime Minister of Nepal Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sri Lanka Retrieved 11 August 2020 Congratulatory Messages of the President of Maldives Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sri Lanka Retrieved 11 August 2020 Congratulatory Message of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sri Lanka Retrieved 11 August 2020 Congratulatory Message of the Prime Minister of Russia Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sri Lanka Retrieved 11 August 2020 Congratulatory Message of the Prime Minister of Singapore Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sri Lanka Retrieved 12 August 2020 Congratulatory Message of the President of Iran Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sri Lanka Retrieved 13 August 2020 External links EditParliament of Sri Lanka Department of Elections Sri Lanka Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election amp oldid 1150542994, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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