Wattala Polling Division

The Wattala Polling Division is a Polling Division in the Gampaha Electoral District, in the Western Province, Sri Lanka.

Wattala
Polling Division
Coordinates: 7°01′28″N 79°53′31″E / 7.024564°N 79.891942°E / 7.024564; 79.891942
Country	Sri Lanka
Province	Western Province, Sri Lanka
Electoral District	Gampaha Electoral District
Area
• Total	57.4 km^2 (22.2 sq mi)
Population  (2012)^[1]
• Total	175,525
• Density	3,058/km^2 (7,920/sq mi)
ISO 3166 code	EC-02A

Presidential Election Results

Summary

The winner of Wattala has matched the final country result 6 out of 8 times. Hence, Wattala is a Weak Bellwether for Presidential Elections.

Year	Wattala		Gampaha Electoral District		MAE^[2] %	Sri Lanka		MAE^[3] %
2019		NDF		SLPP	12.22%		SLPP	5.41%
2015		NDF		NDF	9.49%		NDF	7.79%
2010		UPFA		UPFA	11.76%		UPFA	8.31%
2005		UNP		UPFA	11.68%		UPFA	7.35%
1999		PA		PA	7.18%		PA	2.23%
1994		PA		PA	4.21%		PA	1.96%
1988		UNP		SLFP	8.84%		UNP	5.76%
1982		UNP		UNP	9.59%		UNP	7.43%
Matches/Mean MAE	6/8		7/8		9.37%	8/8		5.78%

2019 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Wattala^[4]			Gampaha Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	NDF		49,463	47.72%		494,671	34.26%		5,564,239	41.99%
	SLPP		48,214	46.51%		855,870	59.28%		6,924,255	52.25%
	NMPP		3,428	3.31%		61,760	4.28%		418,553	3.16%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		2,557	2.47%		31,499	2.18%		345,452	2.61%
Valid Votes		103,662		98.65%	1,443,800		98.92%	13,252,499		98.99%
Rejected Votes		1,418		1.35%	15,751		1.08%	135,452		1.01%
Total Polled		105,080		80.89%	1,459,551		83.31%	13,387,951		83.71%
Registered Electors		129,912			1,751,892			15,992,568

2015 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Wattala^[5]			Gampaha Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	NDF		56,541	59.32%		669,007	49.83%		6,217,162	51.28%
	UPFA		38,001	39.87%		664,347	49.49%		5,768,090	47.58%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		769	0.81%		9,142	0.68%		138,200	1.14%
Valid Votes		95,311		98.62%	1,342,496		98.92%	12,123,452		98.85%
Rejected Votes		1,332		1.38%	14,647		1.08%	140,925		1.15%
Total Polled		96,643		80.22%	1,357,143		80.77%	12,264,377		78.69%
Registered Electors		120,471			1,680,263			15,585,942

2010 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Wattala^[6]			Gampaha Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UPFA		39,316	49.67%		718,716	61.66%		6,015,934	57.88%
	NDF		38,789	49.00%		434,506	37.28%		4,173,185	40.15%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		1,055	1.33%		12,426	1.07%		204,494	1.97%
Valid Votes		79,160		98.96%	1,165,648		99.24%	10,393,613		99.03%
Rejected Votes		830		1.04%	8,960		0.76%	101,838		0.97%
Total Polled		79,990		76.99%	1,174,608		78.03%	10,495,451		66.70%
Registered Electors		103,893			1,505,363			15,734,587

2005 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Wattala^[7]			Gampaha Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UNP		40,984	56.03%		481,764	44.23%		4,706,366	48.43%
	UPFA		31,446	42.99%		596,698	54.78%		4,887,152	50.29%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		718	0.98%		10,815	0.99%		123,521	1.27%
Valid Votes		73,148		98.82%	1,089,277		98.94%	9,717,039		98.88%
Rejected Votes		873		1.18%	11,724		1.06%	109,869		1.12%
Total Polled		74,021		78.37%	1,101,001		79.17%	9,826,908		69.51%
Registered Electors		94,455			1,390,691			14,136,979

1999 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Wattala^[8]			Gampaha Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	PA		32,954	49.55%		532,796	56.58%		4,312,157	51.12%
	UNP		30,566	45.96%		353,969	37.59%		3,602,748	42.71%
	JVP		2,127	3.20%		40,472	4.30%		343,927	4.08%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		865	1.30%		14,382	1.53%		176,679	2.09%
Valid Votes		66,512		97.74%	941,619		97.84%	8,435,754		97.69%
Rejected Votes		1,541		2.26%	20,768		2.16%	199,536		2.31%
Total Polled		68,053		77.00%	962,387		77.12%	8,635,290		72.17%
Registered Electors		88,377			1,247,860			11,965,536

1994 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Wattala^[9]			Gampaha Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	PA		37,373	60.55%		550,654	64.74%		4,709,205	62.28%
	UNP		23,671	38.35%		288,608	33.93%		2,715,283	35.91%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		676	1.10%		11,256	1.32%		137,040	1.81%
Valid Votes		61,720		98.53%	850,518		98.48%	7,561,526		98.03%
Rejected Votes		922		1.47%	13,137		1.52%	151,706		1.97%
Total Polled		62,642		73.25%	863,655		74.16%	7,713,232		69.12%
Registered Electors		85,516			1,164,625			11,158,880

1988 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Wattala^[10]			Gampaha Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UNP		27,945	56.79%		350,092	48.08%		2,569,199	50.43%
	SLFP		19,361	39.35%		355,553	48.83%		2,289,857	44.95%
	SLMP		1,901	3.86%		22,467	3.09%		235,701	4.63%
Valid Votes		49,207		98.66%	728,112		98.63%	5,094,754		98.24%
Rejected Votes		666		1.34%	10,108		1.37%	91,499		1.76%
Total Polled		49,873		72.83%	738,220		74.93%	5,186,256		55.87%
Registered Electors		68,477			985,206			9,283,143

1982 Sri Lankan Presidential Election

Party		Wattala^[11]			Gampaha Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UNP		29,387	62.64%		365,847	52.50%		3,450,815	52.93%
	SLFP		15,717	33.50%		301,808	43.31%		2,546,348	39.05%
	JVP		1,402	2.99%		23,701	3.40%		273,428	4.19%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		410	0.87%		5,491	0.79%		249,460	3.83%
Valid Votes		46,916		99.10%	696,847		99.15%	6,520,156		98.78%
Rejected Votes		425		0.90%	5,992		0.85%	80,470		1.22%
Total Polled		47,341		81.60%	702,839		82.70%	6,600,626		80.15%
Registered Electors		58,015			849,896			8,235,358

Parliamentary Election Results

Summary

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

Year	Wattala		Gampaha Electoral District		MAE^[12] %	Sri Lanka		MAE^[13] %
2015		UNP		UNP	9.77%		UNP	8.91%
2010		UPFA		UPFA	12.62%		UPFA	10.37%
2004		UNP		UPFA	10.25%		UPFA	6.53%
2001		UNP		UNP	7.92%		UNP	4.48%
2000		UNP		PA	6.52%		PA	4.38%
1994		PA		PA	6.69%		PA	2.75%
1989		UNP		UNP	5.29%		UNP	5.54%
Matches/Mean MAE	5/7		7/7		8.44%	7/7		6.14%

2020 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party			Wattala^[14]			Gampaha Electoral District			Sri Lanka
			Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
		SLPFA		47,230	52.48%		807,896	65.76%		6,853,693	59.09%
		SJB		34,706	38.56%		285,809	23.27%		2,771,984	23.9%
		JJB		3,744	4.16%		61,833	5.03%		445,958	3.84%
		UNP		2,138	2.38%		28,282	2.3%		249,435	2.15%
		Other Parties (with < 1%)		2,185	2.42%		44,654	3.64%		1,227,859	11.02%
Valid Votes			90,003		67.62%	1,228,474		68.78%	11,598,936		71.32%
Rejected Votes			6,673		5.01%	75,509		4.23%	744,373		4.58%
Total Polled			96,676		72.63%	1,303,983		73.01%	12,343,309		75.89%
Registered Electors			133,103			1,785,964			16,263,885

2015 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Wattala^[15]			Gampaha Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UNP		51,011	58.35%		577,004	47.17%		5,098,916	45.77%
	UPFA		30,743	35.16%		549,958	44.96%		4,732,664	42.48%
	JVP		5,141	5.88%		87,880	7.18%		544,154	4.88%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		532	0.61%		8,332	0.68%		81,501	0.73%
Valid Votes		87,427		95.12%	1,223,174		95.51%	11,140,333		95.35%
Rejected Votes		4,392		4.78%	56,246		4.39%	516,926		4.42%
Total Polled		91,910		76.29%	1,280,647		78.21%	11,684,111		77.66%
Registered Electors		120,471			1,637,537			15,044,490

2010 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Wattala^[16]			Gampaha Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UPFA		31,444	49.58%		589,476	63.40%		4,846,388	60.38%
	UNP		26,659	42.03%		266,523	28.67%		2,357,057	29.37%
	DNA		4,929	7.77%		69,747	7.50%		441,251	5.50%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		393	0.62%		3,985	0.43%		19,003	0.24%
Valid Votes		63,425		93.57%	929,731		94.83%	8,026,322		96.03%
Rejected Votes		4,328		6.38%	50,234		5.12%	581,465		6.96%
Total Polled		67,784		65.24%	980,467		65.06%	8,358,246		59.29%
Registered Electors		103,893			1,506,969			14,097,690

2004 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Wattala^[17]			Gampaha Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UNP		34,041	50.19%		367,572	37.14%		3,486,792	37.73%
	UPFA		28,344	41.79%		509,963	51.52%		4,223,126	45.70%
	JHU		4,525	6.67%		102,516	10.36%		552,723	5.98%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		911	1.34%		9,691	0.98%		57,229	0.62%
Valid Votes		67,821		96.07%	989,742		95.96%	9,241,931		94.52%
Rejected Votes		2,761		3.91%	41,462		4.02%	534,452		5.47%
Total Polled		70,598		76.81%	1,031,464		77.72%	9,777,821		75.74%
Registered Electors		91,912			1,327,145			12,909,631

2001 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Wattala^[18]			Gampaha Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UNP		37,592	53.82%		437,289	43.94%		4,086,026	45.62%
	PA		24,651	35.29%		428,780	43.08%		3,330,815	37.19%
	JVP		6,641	9.51%		113,990	11.45%		815,353	9.10%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		965	1.38%		15,171	1.52%		137,826	1.54%
Valid Votes		69,849		96.16%	995,230		96.30%	8,955,844		94.77%
Rejected Votes		2,791		3.84%	38,187		3.70%	494,009		5.23%
Total Polled		72,640		78.82%	1,033,417		80.36%	9,449,878		76.03%
Registered Electors		92,154			1,285,973			12,428,762

2000 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Wattala^[19]			Gampaha Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UNP		32,570	48.04%		378,328	39.34%		3,451,765	40.12%
	PA		29,015	42.79%		470,018	48.87%		3,899,329	45.33%
	JVP		4,146	6.11%		73,110	7.60%		518,725	6.03%
	SU		1,320	1.95%		20,297	2.11%		127,859	1.49%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		752	1.11%		19,956	2.08%		319,123	3.71%
Valid Votes		67,803		N/A	961,709		N/A	8,602,617		N/A

1994 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Wattala^[20]			Gampaha Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	PA		32,311	50.18%		509,030	56.79%		3,887,805	48.94%
	UNP		31,482	48.90%		375,631	41.91%		3,498,370	44.04%
	Other Parties (with < 1%)		593	0.92%		11,627	1.30%		90,078	1.13%
Valid Votes		64,386		96.08%	896,288		96.39%	7,943,688		95.20%
Rejected Votes		2,627		3.92%	33,553		3.61%	400,395		4.80%
Total Polled		67,013		78.36%	929,841		79.65%	8,344,095		74.75%
Registered Electors		85,516			1,167,469			11,163,064

1989 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

Party		Wattala^[21]			Gampaha Electoral District			Sri Lanka
		Votes		%	Votes		%	Votes		%
	UNP		28,841	59.33%		385,733	54.14%		2,838,005	50.71%
	SLFP		17,229	35.44%		294,490	41.34%		1,785,369	31.90%
	USA		2,029	4.17%		21,665	3.04%		141,983	2.54%
	ELJP		512	1.05%		10,549	1.48%		67,723	1.21%
Valid Votes		48,611		95.67%	712,437		95.64%	5,596,468		93.87%
Rejected Votes		2,200		4.33%	32,497		4.36%	365,563		6.13%
Total Polled		50,811		75.16%	744,934		76.82%	5,962,031		63.60%
Registered Electors		67,601			969,658			9,374,164

Demographics

Ethnicity

The Wattala Polling Division has a Sinhalese majority (71.1%) and a significant Sri Lankan Tamil population (18.8%) . In comparison, the Gampaha Electoral District (which contains the Wattala Polling Division) has a Sinhalese majority (90.5%) ^[1]

Ethnicity in Wattala^[1]

  Sinhalese (71.1%)

  Sri Lankan Tamil (18.8%)

  Moor (5.7%)

  Indian Tamil (1.9%)

  Burgher (1.5%)

  Other (1.0%)

Religion

The Wattala Polling Division has a Roman Catholic plurality (45.2%), a significant Buddhist population (29.9%) and a significant Hindu population (13.0%) . In comparison, the Gampaha Electoral District (which contains the Wattala Polling Division) has a Buddhist majority (71.3%) and a significant Roman Catholic population (19.5%) ^[1]

Religion in Wattala^[1]

  Roman Catholic (45.2%)

  Buddhist (29.9%)

  Hindu (13.0%)

  Muslim (6.5%)

  Other Christian (5.4%)

  Other (0.1%)

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 Wattala and the Gampaha 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 Wattala 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 Wattala and the Gampaha 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 Wattala and the country. It is a measure of the difference in voting behaviour between the two regions.
14. "2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election Results" (PDF). elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2020.
15. "2015 Sri Lankan parliamentary election Results" (PDF). elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2015.
16. "2010 Sri Lankan parliamentary election Results" (PDF). elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2010.
17. "2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election Results" (PDF). elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2004.
18. "2001 Sri Lankan parliamentary election Results" (PDF). elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2001.
19. "2000 Sri Lankan parliamentary election Results" (PDF). elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 2000.
20. "1994 Sri Lankan parliamentary election Results" (PDF). elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 1994.
21. "1989 Sri Lankan parliamentary election Results" (PDF). elections.gov.lk. Election Commission of Sri Lanka. 1989.