2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka were held 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]

16th Sri Lankan parliamentary election

5 August 2020
All 225 seats to the Parliament of Sri Lanka 113 seats are needed for a majority
Turnout	75.89%
Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa Sajith Premadasa Party Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance Samagi Jana Balawegaya Leader since 2019 2020 Leader's seat Kurunegala District Colombo District Last election 95[lower-alpha 1] New Seats won 145 54 Seat change 50 New Popular vote 6,853,690 2,771,980 Percentage 59.09% 23.90% Swing 16.71% New   Leader R. Sampanthan Anura Kumara Dissanayaka Party Tamil National Alliance National People's Power Leader since 2001 2020 Leader's seat Trincomalee District Colombo District Last election 16 6[lower-alpha 2] Seats won 10 3 Seat change 6 3 Popular vote 327,168 445,958 Percentage 2.82% 3.84% Swing 1.80% 1.03%
Polling divisions won by ■ – SLPFA ■ – SJB ■ – TNA ■ – SLFP ■ – EPDP ■ – Other parties
Prime Minister before election Mahinda Rajapaksa United People's Freedom Alliance Prime Minister after election Mahinda Rajapaksa Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance

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]

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.

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

• 21 November 2019 – Incumbent Prime Minister Ranil Wickramasinghe resigns and President Gotabaya Rajapaksa appoints his brother Mahinda Rajapakse as the new Prime Minister.[62]

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 Gazzete.[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 New Sri Lanka Freedom Party files 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 announced 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

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.[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]

National

Summary of the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election[112][113][114]

Alliances and parties		Votes	%	Seats
				District	National	Total	+/–
	Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance[lower-roman 1] Ceylon Workers' Congress Mahajana Eksath Peramuna National Congress[lower-roman 2] National Freedom Front Pivithuru Hela Urumaya Socialist Alliance Communist Party of Sri Lanka Democratic Left Front[lower-roman 3] Lanka Sama Samaja Party[lower-roman 4] National Liberation People's Party Sri Lanka People's Party Sri Lanka Freedom Party[lower-roman 5] Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna	6,853,690	59.09	128	17	145	50
	Samagi Jana Balawegaya All Ceylon Makkal Congress[lower-roman 6] Jathika Hela Urumaya New Lanka Freedom Party Sri Lanka Muslim Congress[lower-roman 7] Tamil Progressive Alliance National Union of Workers United Progressive Alliance Democratic People's Front Up-Country People's Front United National Party (Sajith wing)	2,771,980	23.90	47	7	54	New
	Tamil National Alliance[lower-roman 8] Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization	327,168	2.82	9	1	10	6
	National People's Power Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna	445,958	3.84	2	1	3	3
	Tamil National People's Front[lower-roman 9] All Ceylon Tamil Congress	67,766	0.58	1	1	2	2
	Eelam People's Democratic Party	61,464	0.53	2	0	2	1
	United National Party	249,435	2.15	0	1	1	105
	Our Power of People's Party Bodu Bala Sena	67,758	0.58	0	1	1	1
	Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal	67,692	0.58	1	0	1	1
	Sri Lanka Freedom Party[lower-roman 5]	66,579	0.57	1	0	1	1
	Muslim National Alliance All Ceylon Makkal Congress[lower-roman 6] Muslim National Alliance Sri Lanka Muslim Congress[lower-roman 7]	55,981	0.48	1	0	1	1
	Tamil People's National Alliance Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front Eelam Tamil Self Rule Party Tamil National Party Tamil People's Alliance	51,301	0.44	1	0	1	1
	All Ceylon Makkal Congress[lower-roman 6]	43,319	0.37	1	0	1	1
	National Congress[lower-roman 2]	39,272	0.34	1	0	1	1
	Sri Lanka Muslim Congress[lower-roman 7]	34,428	0.30	1	0	1
	United Peace Alliance	31,054	0.27	0	0	0
	All Lanka Tamil Mahasabha	30,031	0.26	0	0	0
	National Development Front	14,686	0.13	0	0	0
	Frontline Socialist Party	14,522	0.13	0	0	0
	Social Democratic Party of Tamils	11,464	0.10	0	0	0
	Tamil United Liberation Front	9,855	0.08	0	0	0
	Socialist Party of Sri Lanka	9,368	0.08	0	0	0
	People's Welfare Front	7,361	0.06	0	0	0
	Sinhalese National Front	5,056	0.04	0	0	0
	New Democratic Front	4,883	0.04	0	0	0
	United Left Front	4,879	0.04	0	0	0
	Liberal Party of Sri Lanka	4,345	0.04	0	0	0
	National People's Party	3,813	0.03	0	0	0
	Democratic United National Front	3,611	0.03	0	0	0
	National Democratic Front	3,488	0.03	0	0	0
	Sri Lanka Labour Party	3,134	0.03	0	0	0
	Democratic Left Front	2,964	0.03	0	0	0
	New Sinhala Heritage	1,397	0.01	0	0	0
	United Socialist Party	1,189	0.01	0	0	0
	Motherland People's Party	1,087	0.01	0	0	0
	Eelavar Democratic Front	1,035	0.01	0	0	0
	Socialist Equality Party	780	0.01	0	0	0
	Lanka Sama Samaja Party[lower-roman 4]	737	0.01	0	0	0
	All Are Citizens All Are Kings Organization	632	0.01	0	0	0
	Democratic Unity Alliance	145	0.00	0	0	0
	Independents	223,622	1.93	0	0	0
Valid votes		11,598,929	100	196	29	225
Rejected votes		744,373	6.03
Total votes		12,343,302
Registered electors/turnout		16,263,885	75.89
Footnotes: The SLPFA contested under the name and symbol of SLPP. The NC contested separately in two districts (Ampara and Polonnaruwa) and with the SLPFA in other districts. The DLF contested separately in two districts (Jaffna and Vanni) and with the SLPFA in other districts. The LSSP contested separately in one district (Jaffna) and with the SLPFA in other districts. The SLFP contested separately in three districts (Jaffna, Kalutara and Nuwara Eliya) and with the SLPFA in other districts. The ACMC contested separately in one district (Ampara) and with the SJB in other districts. The SLMC contested separately in one district (Batticaloa) and with the SJB in other districts. The TNA contested under the name and symbol of ITAK. The TNPF contested under the name and symbol of ACTC.

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 now-defunct United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) at the 2015 parliamentary election.
2. Represents seats won by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) at the 2015 parliamentary election.

References

1. "Sri Lankan parliament dissolved; elections set for April". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
2. "General Election will be held on June 20". MSN.
3. "Sri Lanka general elections 2020 – LIVE UPDATES". EconomyNext. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
4. "Over 1.2 million new votes registered for Sri Lanka's upcoming polls". EconomyNext. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
5. "Sri Lanka's youth are unlikely to vote for the old guard in Parliament". EconomyNext. 28 July 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
6. "Rajapaksas dominates South with landslide victory in Sri Lankan elections | Tamil Guardian". www.tamilguardian.com. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
7. Iqbal Athas and Helen Regan. "Sri Lanka's Mahinda Rajapaksa declares victory in parliamentary elections". CNN. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
8. "Sri Lanka Podujana Party wins 2020 general elections in a landslide". EconomyNext. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
9. "Rajapaksa declares election victory in Sri Lanka". BBC News. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
10. "Sri Lanka : 2020 Parliamentary Election Results: SLPP wins six seats in Matara district, SJB one". www.colombopage.com. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
11. "Rajapaksa brothers win by landslide in Sri Lanka's election". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
12. "Sri Lanka ex-PM's UNP polls less than 5-pct in declared Colombo seats". EconomyNext. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
13. "Sri Lanka prepares for twice-delayed poll amid militarized COVID-19 response · Global Voices". Global Voices. 21 June 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
14. Srinivasan, Meera (13 July 2020). "Lanka election body 'monitoring' virus spike". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
15. "Sri Lanka holds coronavirus-proof test vote". BBC News. 14 June 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
16. "Sri Lanka to conduct advance polling for people under quarantine". The New Indian Express. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
17. "Sri Lanka 2020 general elections turnout lower, steepest in Kurunegala". EconomyNext. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
18. "Sri Lanka counts votes from parliamentary elections". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
19. "New Parliament to meet on August 20". Daily News. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
20. "New Parliament to meet on 20th of August 2020". Sri Lanka News – Newsfirst. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
21. Bastians, Dharisha; Goel, Vindu (9 November 2018). "Sri Lanka President Dissolves Parliament Amid Power Struggle". The New York Times. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
22. "Sri Lanka Supreme Court overturns dissolution of parliament". Al Jazeera and news agencies. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 26 November 2018.
23. "Sacking pro-SJB members from the UNP "was long overdue" – Asst. Leader RaviK". EconomyNext. 29 July 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
24. Abhayasinghe, Shiromi. "SJB is a separate party – Ranil". Daily News. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
25. "The UNP, SJB and intra-party democracy | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
26. "SJB commits to people centric governance | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
27. "Sri Lanka's General Election postponed till country is freed from COVID-19". NewsIn.Asia. 19 March 2020. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
28. "Sri Lanka's General Election postponed: Until the polls Country comes under Election Commission | Asian Tribune". www.asiantribune.com. Retrieved 19 March 2020.
29. admin (15 March 2020). "President tells SAARC leaders April election will go ahead". Colombo Gazette. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
30. MENAFN. "Sri Lanka- President tells SAARC leaders April election will go ahead". menafn.com. Retrieved 16 March 2020.
31. "Sri Lanka election set for June 20, ending possible crisis". Yahoo!.
32. "Sri Lankan Supreme Court told parliamentary election can be held on June 20 under health guidelines". outlookindia.com.
33. "Sri Lanka election set for June 20, ending possible crisis". WTOP. 20 April 2020.
34. "Sri Lanka's parliamentary elections fixed for August 5". Sri Lanka News – Newsfirst. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
35. "Sri Lanka Parliamentary General Election to be held on Aug 5". EconomyNext. 10 June 2020. Retrieved 10 June 2020.
36. "Sri Lanka's General Election on August 05". Adaderana. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
37. "Sri Lanka general election voting picking up after slow start, Colombo 26-pct: officials: officials". EconomyNext. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
38. "Sri Lanka : Polling begins for Sri Lanka parliamentary elections amid coronavirus fears". www.colombopage.com. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
39. "Poetry for reflection on Sri Lanka's Election Day | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
40. "Stay apart and bring a pen: Sri Lanka goes to the polls during pandemic". the Guardian. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
41. MENAFN. "Sri Lanka- Voters permitted to use their own pens at polls". menafn.com. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
42. "Sri Lanka's election chief assures voter safety on eve of parliamentary election – Xinhua | English.news.cn". www.xinhuanet.com. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
43. 5 Aug, Reuters |; 2020; Ist, 09:39. "Sri Lanka Parliamentary Elections 2020: Sri Lankans, wearing masks, flock to voting centres for parliament election | World News – Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 5 August 2020.CS1 maint: numeric names: authors list (link)
44. "Sri Lanka Elections Commissioner casts vote at polling station after 9 years". EconomyNext. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
45. "Sri Lanka : Over 82,000 security personnel deployed to ensure peaceful election in Sri Lanka". www.colombopage.com. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
46. "Sri Lanka : Colombo Stock Exchange to close early tomorrow for Election". www.colombopage.com. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
47. "Explained: Why Rajapaksa clan is likely to win the Sri Lanka parliamentary polls". The Indian Express. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
48. "Opinion: Sri Lanka ruling party is ahead with 12 days to go for Parliamentary polls". EconomyNext. 25 July 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
49. "Polls 2020: SJB biggest spender, SLPP has most election law violations – CMEV". EconomyNext. 27 July 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
50. "Candidates spend Rs 2.2 bn over Sri Lanka's polls campaign period". EconomyNext. 5 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
51. "Sri Lankan SEP to hold online meeting to conclude its election campaign". www.wsws.org. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
52. "United National Party digital election campaign launched". Daily News. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
53. "President honoured for eco-friendly election campaign". Daily News. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
54. "Sri Lanka : Sri Lankan President honored for leading an eco-friendly Presidential Election campaign". www.colombopage.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
55. "Sri Lankan parliamentary elections: Five key takeaways". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
56. "Sri Lanka : All election campaigning and propaganda activities end midnight today". www.colombopage.com. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
57. "Final rallies, Election campaigns ends tonight". Daily News. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
58. "Move to dissolve Sri Lanka's parliament". BBC. 9 November 2018.
59. "Sri Lanka Supreme Court says president violated constitution". Yahoo! News.
60. "Ranil sworn back in as prime minister | Tamil Guardian". tamilguardian.com.
61. "Sri Lanka court denies Rajapakse authority to act as PM". Yahoo!.
62. "Ranil Wickremesinghe to resign as Sri Lanka's prime minister, Mahinda to take over | Tamil Guardian". tamilguardian.com.
63. "Sri Lanka : UNP appoints Sajith as the leader of new alliance and Prime Ministerial candidate". colombopage.com.
64. "Sajith's alliance to be named 'Samagi Jana Balawegaya' with the 'heart' as its symbol". english.theleader.lk.
65. Story, Inside. "Why does Sri Lanka's parliamentary election matter?". www.aljazeera.com. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
66. "SLPP and SLFP to contest general election under new alliance with Mahinda as leader". Adaderana. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
67. "Sri Lankan Parliament dissolved, elections on April 25". Hindustan Times. 3 March 2020.
68. "Sri Lanka's General Election postponed". Adaderana. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
69. "Sri Lankan election commission asks president to seek court opinion on parliamentary election delay". ConstitutionNet.
70. "President's Secretary responds to Election Commission on the warning of Constitutional Crisis". lankanewsweb.net.
71. "Prof. Hoole objects proposal to conduct poll on May 28". Sri Lanka News – Newsfirst. 20 April 2020.
72. "General Election will be held on June 20". MSN.
73. "Victor Ivan and seven others file FR against General Election". MSN.
74. "Samagi Jana Balawegaya files petition against 20 June polls | Colombo Gazette". 6 May 2020.
75. "Champika and Welgama file petitions against polls | Colombo Gazette". 9 May 2020.
76. "Five-member judge bench to hear FR petitions against elections date". Adaderana. Retrieved 15 June 2020.
78. Sooriyagoda, Lakmal. "AG requests court to dismiss petitions in limine". Daily News.
79. "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.
80. "Sri Lanka extends polling time for August parliamentary elections". Retrieved 7 August 2020.
81. "Election campaign ends at midnight on Aug. 2 and Voting Time was from 7am to 5pm announced". dailynews. Retrieved 30 July 2020.
82. "Election campaign ends at midnight on Aug. 2". Daily News. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
83. "Sri Lanka : Sri Lanka President to swear in 28-minister cabinet Wednesday". www.colombopage.com. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
84. Rasheed, Zaheena; Kuruwita, Rathindra (13 December 2018). "Sri Lanka's Supreme Court overturns sacking of parliament". Al Jazeera. Retrieved 14 December 2018.
85. "Sri Lanka : Sri Lanka election monitor expresses concern over changing COVID-19 health guidelines for election campaigning". www.colombopage.com. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
86. "Sri Lanka : Curfew in Puttalam area lifted temporarily for nomination process". colombopage.com.
87. "Sri Lanka gears up for delayed polls amid pandemic". Arab News. 2 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
88. "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.
89. "Sri Lanka's parliamentary elections: Five things to know". Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
90. "Sri Lanka : All polling centers to be disinfected today and tomorrow". www.colombopage.com. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
91. "SLPP leads the race in Sri Lanka's election law violations". EconomyNext. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
92. "TNA candidate demands investigation from EC and ITAK leader into controversial Jaffna recount | Tamil Guardian". www.tamilguardian.com. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
93. Weerasooriya, Sahan. "Bloody rumpus at Jaffna Central College blamed by CMEV on lack of understanding of counting process". Retrieved 15 August 2020.
94. "Claims of foul-play over preferential vote count in Jaffna after late night recount | Tamil Guardian". www.tamilguardian.com. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
95. Vyshnavy (7 August 2020). "Raviraj accuses Sumanthiran of manipulating final results | Colombo Gazette". Retrieved 7 August 2020.
96. admin (6 August 2020). "SJB claims Ranil making unlawful attempt to save seat | Colombo Gazette". Retrieved 7 August 2020.
97. "UNP lawyers attempting to count Ranil's preferential votes, claims SJB". EconomyNext. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
98. 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.
99. "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.
100. 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.
101. "Sri Lanka: Parliament". Inter-Parliamentary Union.
102. "Sri Lanka electors can vote for one party, three preferences in 2020 general elections: polls chief". EconomyNext. 4 August 2020. Retrieved 5 August 2020.
103. "First official result of parliamentary election released". Sri Lanka News – Newsfirst. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
104. admin (7 August 2020). "SLPP sweeps polls and secures 145 seats, SJB gets 54 | Colombo Gazette". Retrieved 7 August 2020.
105. "Sri Lanka election: Rajapaksa clan heading for landslide win in Lanka polls". The Indian Express. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
106. France-Presse, Agence (7 August 2020). "Sri Lanka's Rajapaksa brothers strengthen grip in landslide election win". the Guardian. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
107. 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.
108. "Mahinda Rajapaksa sworn in as Sri Lanka's PM after record victory". Al Jazeera. 9 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
109. "SJB ready for main Opposition role | Daily FT". www.ft.lk. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
110. "SJB claims it is now the country's main Opposition Party". EconomyNext. 6 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
111. "Sri Lanka : Election Commission releases preferential list of elected candidates, PM gets highest preferential votes". www.colombopage.com. Retrieved 8 August 2020.
112. "2020 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Elections". Rajagiriya, Sri Lanka: Election Commission of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
113. "Parliamentary Election 2020". The Daily Mirror. Colombo, Sri Lanka. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
114. "Official Election Results Parliamentary Election – 2020 – Sri Lanka". news.lk. Colombo, Sri Lanka: Department of Government Information. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
115. "Mahinda Rajapaksa takes oath as Sri Lankan Prime Minister". The Indian Express. 9 August 2020. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
116. "Mahinda Rajapaksa Sworn in as Sri Lanka's Prime Minister for 4th Time, Cementing Family Rule". News18. Retrieved 9 August 2020.
117. admin (6 August 2020). "Indian PM Modi telephones Mahinda and congratulates him | Colombo Gazette". Retrieved 7 August 2020.
118. "US congratulates Sri Lanka for holding peaceful poll amidst coronavirus". Sri Lanka News – Newsfirst. 7 August 2020. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
119. SL, MFA. "Congratulatory Message of the Prime Minister of Vietnam". Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sri Lanka. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
120. SL, MFA. "Congratulatory Message of the Prime Minister of Nepal". Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sri Lanka. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
121. SL, MFA. "Congratulatory Messages of the President of Maldives". Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sri Lanka. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
122. SL, MFA. "Congratulatory Message of the Prime Minister of Bangladesh". Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sri Lanka. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
123. SL, MFA. "Congratulatory Message of the Prime Minister of Russia". Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sri Lanka. Retrieved 11 August 2020.
124. SL, MFA. "Congratulatory Message of the Prime Minister of Singapore". Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sri Lanka. Retrieved 12 August 2020.
125. SL, MFA. "Congratulatory Message of the President of Iran". Ministry of Foreign Affairs Sri Lanka. Retrieved 13 August 2020.

External links

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