Sri Lankan parliamentary election, 1977

8th Sri Lankan parliamentary election

1970 ← 21 July 1977 → 1989

All 168 seats to the National State Assembly 85 seats were needed for a majority   First party Second party Third party   Leader Junius Richard Jayewardene Appapillai Amirthalingam Sirimavo Bandaranaike Party United National Party Tamil United Liberation Front Sri Lanka Freedom Party Leader's seat Colombo West Kankesanthurai Attanagalla Seats won 140 18 8 Popular vote 3,179,221 421,488 1,855,331 Percentage 50.92% 6.75% 29.72%

Winners of polling divisions. UNP in green, TULF in yellow and SLFP in blue.

Prime Minister before election Sirimavo Bandaranaike Sri Lanka Freedom Party Prime Minister-designate Junius Richard Jayewardene United National Party

The 1977 Sri Lankan election heralded the beginning of a new period of Sri Lanka's history - a period of unprecedented violence.

Contents 1 Background 2 Results 3 Electorate Results 3.1 Western Province 3.1.1 Colombo District 3.1.2 Gampaha District 3.1.3 Kalutara District 3.2 Central Province 3.2.1 Matale District 3.2.2 Kandy District 3.2.3 Nuwaraeliya District 3.3 Southern Province 3.3.1 Galle District 3.3.2 Matara District 3.3.3 Hambantota District 3.4 Northern Province 3.4.1 Jaffna District 3.4.2 Vanni District 3.5 Eastern Province 3.5.1 Trincomalee District 3.5.2 Batticalao District 3.5.3 Ampara District 3.6 North Western Province 3.6.1 Puttalam District 3.6.2 Kurunegala District 3.7 North Central Province 3.7.1 Anuradapura District 3.7.2 Polonnaruwa District 3.8 Uva Province 3.8.1 Badulla District 3.8.2 Monaragala District 3.9 Sabaragamuwa Province 3.9.1 Kegalla District 3.9.2 Ratnapura District 4 References

Background

Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike had become extraordinarily unpopular. Her economic policies had led to industrial growth and self-reliance, but was insufficient to overcome unemployment. Constitutionally, she had taken advantage of the 1972 constitution to delay the election until 1977, instead of 1975 as would have been the case under the old Soulbury constitution. The government's strong Sinhala nationalist stance had led to unrest in the Tamil north; in response, an island-wide state of emergency was imposed, causing hardship to many people. The UF coalition Bandaranaike had built for the 1970 elections had disintegrated.

By contrast, the United National Party had made a surprising comeback since its 1970 humiliation. Under the leadership of J.R. Jayewardene it had assiduously built up its ground organization. The UNP promised to solve the ethnic problem with a devolution package. Economically, it proposed opening up the Sri Lankan economy again. Constitutionally, the UNP called for replacing the Westminster-based political system with one modelled along French lines. Most importantly, it promised a free extra ration of eight pounds of cereal (the so-called eta ata), on top of the existing ration of two kilograms of rice.

More portentous was the status of the Tamil parties. The old federalist Tamil parties had merged to form the Tamil United Liberation Front, led by Appapillai Amirthalingam, which had gone beyond regional autonomy to openly call for independence of the Tamil-speaking regions of the country.

Results

The UNP won the largest landslide in Sri Lankan history (due to the first-past-the-post system). For the first time, a Tamil party won the second-highest number of seats in Parliament and became the Official Opposition.

Abeyratne Pilapitiya of the UNP was elected MP for Kalawana, but was subsequently unseated in an election petition. Sarath Muttetuwegama of the Communist Party was returned to Parliament in the ensuing by-election.

The 1977 election was the only one ever held under the 1972 constitution. ^[1]

e • d Summary of the 1977 Sri Lankan parliamentary election

Party		Candidates	Votes	%	Seats
	United National Party	154	3,179,221	50.92	140
	Tamil United Liberation Front	23	421,488	6.75	18
	Sri Lanka Freedom Party	147	1,855,331	29.72	8
	Ceylon Workers' Congress	2	62,707	1.00	1
	Lanka Sama Samaja Party	82	225,317	3.61	0
	Communist Party of Sri Lanka	25	123,856	1.98	0
	Mahajana Eksath Peramuna	27	22,639	0.36	0
	Others	295	353,014	5.65	1
Valid Votes		755	6,243,573	100.00	168
Rejected Votes
Total Votes Polled
Total Electors Polled1
Registered Electors			6,667,589
Turnout
Source: Sri Lanka Statistics 1. Total electors polled is less than total votes polled due to multiple-member seats where electors can cast more than one vote.

Electorate Results

Western Province

Colombo District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Colombo North	M. Vincent Perera	Elephant
Colombo Central	R.Premadasa	Elephant
Colombo Central	M.Jabir A. Cader	Eye
Colombo Central	M.Haleem Ishak	Hand
Borella	M.H.Mohomed	Elephant
Colombo East	A.Edmund Samarawickrema	Elephant
Colombo West	J.R.Jayewardene	Elephant
Dehiwala	S. de S. Jayasinghe	Elephant
Ratmalana	Lalith Athulathmudali	Elephant
Kolonnawa	Weerasinghe Mallimaratchchi	Elephant
Kotte	Ananda Tissa de Alwis	Elephant
Kaduwela	M.D.H. Jayawardana	Elephant
Awissawella	M.D.Premarathna	Eephant
Homagama	Gamani Jayasuriya	Elephant
Maharagama	Premaratne Gunasekera	Elephant
Kesbewa	Dharmasena Attigalle	Elephant
Moratuwa	Tyronne Fernando	Elephant

Gampaha District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Wattala	D. Shelton Jayasinghe	Elephant
Negambo	N. Denzil Fernando	Elepant
Katana	Wijayapala Mendis	Elephant
Divulapitiya	Ariyaratne Jayatillake	Elephant
Mirigama	Mahendra Wijeratne	Elephant
Minuwangoda	Bennet Gunasekera	Elephant
Attanagalla	Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias	Hand
Gampaha	S.D.Bandaranayake	Hand
Ja-ela	Joseph Michael Perera	Elephant
Mahara	Tudor Gunasekera	Elephant
Dompe	Sarathchandra Rajakaruna	Elephant
Biyagama	Ranil Wickremasinghe	Elephant
Kelaniya	Kaluwadewage Cyril Mathew	Elephant

Kalutara District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Panadura	Neville Fernando	Elephant
Bandaragama	Senaraja Samaranayake	Elephant
Horana	Indradasa Hettiarachchi	Elephant
Bulathsinhala	O.S. Perera	Elephant
Mathugama	Reginold V. Wijegooneratne	Elephant
Kalutara	V.L.Wijemanne	Elephant
Beruwala	Bakeer Markar Abduli	Elephant
Agalawatta	Merill Kariyawasam	Elephant

Central Province

Matale District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Dambulla	K.W.R.M.Ekananayake	Elephant
Laggala	J.G.Wijeratne Banda	Elephant
Matale	Alick Aluvihare	Elephant
Rattota	P.B.Kaviratne	Elephant

Kandy District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Galagedara	W.M.G.T. Banda	Elephant
Harispattuwa	Abdul Cader Sahul Hameed	Elephant
Harispattuwa	R. Premachandra Wijesiri	Umbrella
Pathadumbara	T.B. Werapitiya	Elephant
Udadumbara	R.B. Attanayake	Elephant
Teldeniya	Gamini Rajapakse	Elephant
Kundasale	D.M. Chandrapala	Elephant
Hewaheta	Anura Daniel	Elephant
Senkadagala	Shelton Ranaraja	Elephant
Mahanuwara	E.L. Senanayake	Elephant
Yatinuwara	Sunil Subasiri Abeysundara	Elephant
Udunuwara	D.B. Wijetunga	Elephant
Gampola	W.P.B. Dissanayake	Elephant

Nuwaraeliya District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Navalapitiya	Chandradra Karunaratne	Elephant
Nuwaraeliya Maskeliya	Gamini Dissanayake	Elephant
Nuwaraeliya Maskeliya	Anura Bandaranaike	Hand
Nuwaraeliya Maskeliya	S. Thondaman	Cockerei
Kothmale	Ananda Dassanayake	Hand
Hanguranketha	George Abeygoonasekera	Elephant
Walapane	Renuka Herath (Mrs.)	Elephant

Southern Province

Galle District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Balapitiya	Norman Waidyaratna	Elephant
Ambalangoda	Raitor Thilakasekara	Elephant
Karandeniya	Bandulahewa Senadheera	Elephant
Bentara-Elpitiya	Rupasena Karunatilake	Elephant
Hiniduma	M.S. Amarasiri	Elephant
Baddegama	E.D. Wickrematilaka	Elephant
Rathgma	Edwin Thilakaratne	Elephant
Galle	Albert de Silva	Elephant
Akmeemana	Sumanadasa Abeywickrema	Elephant
Habaraduwa	P. Sumathiratne	Elephant
Deniyaya	Keerthisena Abeywickrama	Elephant

Matara District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Hakmana	Harshanath Wanigasekara	Elephant
Akuressa	Dayananda Wickremasinghe	Elephant
Kamburupitiya	D.E. Malawaraarachchi	Elephant
Devinuwara	Ronnie de Mel	Elephant
Matara	S.K. Piyadasa	Elephant
Weligama	Montague Jayawickrema	Elephant

Hambantota District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Mulkirigala	T.D.Fransisku	Elephant
Beliatta	Ranjith Atapattu	Elephant
Tangalle	Jinadasa Weerasinghe	Elephant
Tissamaharama	P.M.B. Cyril	Elephant

Northern Province

Jaffna District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Kayts	K.P. Ratnam	Sun
Waddukkodai	T. Thirunavukarasu	Sun
Kankesanthurai	A. Amirthalingam	Sun
Kopai	S. Kathiravelupillai	Sun
Udduppidi	T. Rasalingam	Sun
Point-Pedro	K. Thurairatnam	Sun
Chavakachcheri	V.N. Navaratnam	Sun
Nallur	M. Sivasithamparam	Sun
Jaffna	V. Yogeswaran	Sun

Vanni District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Kilinochchi	V. Anandasangary	Sun
Mannar	P.S. Soosaithasan	Sun
Mulativu	X.M.Sellathambu	Sun
Vavuniya	T. Sivasithamparam	Sun

Eastern Province

Trincomalee District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Seruvila	H.D.L. Leelaratne	Elephant
Trincomalee	R. Sampathan	Sun

Batticalao District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Mutur	M.E.H. Maharoof	Elephant
Kalkudah	K.W. Devanayagam	Elephant
Batticaloa	C.Rajadurai	Sun
Paddiruppu	P. Ganeshalingam	Sun

Ampara District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Ampara	P. Dayaratna	Elephant
Samanthurai	M.A. Abdul Majeed	Elephant
Kalmunai	Abdul Rasak Mansoor	Elephant
Potuvil	M.A.M. Jalaldeen	Elephant

North Western Province

Puttalam District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Puttalam	M.H.M. Neina Marikkar	Elephant
Anamaduwa	Saddhatissa Wadigamangawa	Elephant
Chilaw	Harindra Corea	Elepahant
Nattandiya	Harold Herath	Elephant
Wennappuwa	Festus Perera	Elephant

Kurunegala District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Galgamuwa	H.M.A. Lokubanda	Elephant
Nikaweratiya	H.B. Wanninayake	Elephant
Yapahuwa	H.B. Abeyratne	Elephant
Hiriyala	S.B. Herath	Elephant
Wariyapola	Amarawathie Piyaseeli Ratnayake (Mrs.)	Elephant
Panduwasnuwara	Kalubanda Ratnayake	Elephant
Bingiriya	J.L. Sirisena	Elephant
Katugampola	Jayawicrema Perera	Elephant
Kuliyapitiya	Lionel Jayatillake	Elephant
Dambadeniya	Ukkubanda Wijekoon	Elephant
Polgahawela	J.A.D.S. R. Jayakody	Elephant
Kurunegala	Dingiri Banda Welagedera	Elephant
Mawathagama	G.M. Premachandra	Elephant
Dodangaslanda	S.W. Alawatuwala	Elephant

North Central Province

Anuradapura District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Medawachchiya	Maithripala Senanayake	Hand
Horoupothana	E.L.B.Hurulle	Elephant
Anuradhapura East	W.Y. Herath	Elephant
Anuradhapura West	K.D.M.C. Bandara	Elephant
Kalawewa	A.M.S. Adikari	Elephant
Mihintale	Dayaratne Walagambahu	Elephant
Kekirawa	G.D. Mahindsoma	Elephant

Polonnaruwa District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Minneriya	Merril de Silva	Elephant
Medirigiriya	A.D.B. Ekanayake	Elephant
Polonnaruwa	H.G.P. Nelson

Uva Province

Badulla District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Mahiyangana	C.P.J.Seneviratne	Elephant
Viyaluwa	Weerawanni Samaraweera	Elephant
Passara	W.M. Karunaratne	Elephant
Badulla	D. Vincent Perera	Elephant
Hali-ela	R.M. Abeykoon	Elephant
Uva-paranagama	R.M. Karunaratne	Elephant
Welimada	Percy Samaraweera	Elephant
Bandarawela	R.M.Apphamy	Elephant
Haputale	W.J.M.Lokubandara	Elephant

Monaragala District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Bibile	R.M.Dharmadasa Banda	Elephant
Moneragala	R.M. Punchi Bandara	Elephant
Wellawaya	J.M. Kumaradasa	Elephant

Sabaragamuwa Province

Kegalla District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Dedigama	Nissanka Parakrama Wijayaratne	Elephant
Galigamuwa	Wimala Kannangara (Mrs.)	Elephant
Kegalle	N.A. Seneviratne	Elephnt
Rambukkana	Asoka Karunaratne	Elephant
Mawanella	C.R. Beligammana	Elephant
Aranayaka	Wasantha Udayaratne	Elephant
Yatiyantota	K. Vincent Perera	Elephant
Ruwanwella	P.C. Imbulana	Elephant
Deraniyagala	A.K.D. Wanigaratne	Elephant

Ratnapura District

Electorate	Name of the Elected	Symbol
Ehaliyagoda	Mervyn Kularatne	Elephant
Ratnapura	G.V. Punchinilame	Elephant
Pelmadulla	Chandrasekera Gankanda	Elephant
Balangoda	M.L.M.Aboosally	Elephant
Rakwana	H. Kularatne	Elephant
Nivitigala	Gamini Athukorale	Elephant
Kalawana	Abeyratna Pilapitiya	Elephant
Kolonna	Caluwadewage Nanda Mathew	Elephant

Source ^{[2] [3]}

References

• "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1977". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/General%20Election%201977.PDF. 
• "1977 General Election Results". LankaNewspapers.com. http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/election/general_election1977.jsp. 
• "Table 38 Parliament Election (1977)". Sri Lanka Statistics. 10 February 2009. http://www.jpp.co.jp/lanka/gov/govd/govde/gov38e.htm. 
• Rajasingham, K. T. (26 January 2002). "Chapter 24: Tamil militancy - a manifestation". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Asia Times. http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DA26Df04.html. 
• Rajasingham, K. T. (2 February 2002). "Chapter 25: War or peace?". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Asia Times. http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DB02Df03.html. 

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