Sri Lankan provincial council elections, 2012

6th Sri Lankan provincial council election
Sri Lanka
8 September 2012
114 seats across 3 provincial councils
Turnout 64.10%
  Majority party Minority party
 
Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa Ranil Wickremasinghe
Party United People's Freedom Alliance United National Party
Popular vote 1,027,310 557,885
Percentage 51.05% 27.72%
Councillors 63 29
Councils 2 0

Winners of polling divisions. UPFA in blue, TNA in yellow and SLMC in green.

Provincial council elections were held in Sri Lanka on 8 September 2012 to elect 114 members to three of the nine provincial councils in the country. 3.3 million Sri Lankans were eligible to vote in the election. Elections for the Northern Provincial Council, which had been governed directly by the national government since it was demerged from the North Eastern Provincial Council in January 2007, are overdue but the government has not set a date. Elections to the remaining five provincial councils are not due till 2014 as they had their last election in 2009.

The United People's Freedom Alliance's domination of Sri Lankan elections continued as expected. It retained control of two provincial councils (North Central and Sabaragamuwa) but lost overall control in the other provincial council (Eastern), although it was the largest group.

Background

In an attempt to end the Sri Lankan Civil War the Indo-Lanka Accord was signed on 29 July 1987. One of the requirements of the accord was that the Sri Lankan government to devolve powers to the provinces.[1] Accordingly on 14 November 1987 the Sri Lankan Parliament passed the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka and the Provincial Councils Act No 42 of 1987.[2][3] On 3 February 1988 nine provincial councils were created by order.[4] The first elections for provincial councils took place on 28 April 1988 in North Central, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, and Uva provinces.[5] On 2 June 1988 elections were held for provincial councils for Central, Southern and Western provinces. The United National Party (UNP), which was in power nationally, won control of all seven provincial councils.

The Indo-Lanka Accord also required the merger of the Eastern and Northern provinces into one administrative unit. The accord required a referendum to be held by 31 December 1988 in the Eastern Province to decide whether the merger should be permanent. Crucially, the accord allowed the Sri Lankan president to postpone the referendum at his discretion.[1] On September 2 and 8 1988 President Jayewardene issued proclamations enabling the Eastern and Northern provinces to be one administrative unit administered by one elected council, creating the North Eastern Province.[4] Elections in the newly merged North Eastern Province were held on 19 November 1988. The Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front, an Indian backed paramilitary group, won control of the North Eastern provincial council.

On 1 March 1990, just as the Indian Peace Keeping Force were preparing to withdraw from Sri Lanka, Annamalai Varatharajah Perumal, Chief Minister of the North Eastern Province, moved a motion in the North Eastern Provincial Council declaraing an independent Eelam.[6] President Premadasa reacted to Permual's UDI by dissolving the provincial council and imposing direct rule on the province.

The 2nd Sri Lankan provincial council election was held in 1993 in seven provinces. The UNP retained control of six provincial councils but lost control of the largest provincial council, Western, to the opposition People's Alliance. A special election was held in Southern Province in 1994 after some UNP provincial councillors defected to the opposition. The PA won the election and took control of the Southern Provincial Council.

The 3rd Sri Lankan provincial council election was held in 1999 in seven provinces. The PA, which was now in power nationally, managed to win the majority of seats in two provinces (North Central and North Western). It was also able to form a majority administration in the other five provinces with the support of smaller parties such as the Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) . The UNP regained control of the Central Provincial Council in 2002 after the CWC councillors crossed over to the opposition.[7]

The 4th Sri Lankan provincial council election was held in 2004 in seven provinces. The United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), the successor to the PA, won all seven provinces.

The 5th Sri Lankan provincial council election was held in 2008/09 in eight provinces. The UPFA won all eight provinces.

Results

Overall

The UPFA won control of two provincial councils (North Central and North Central). There was no overall control in the other provincial council (Eastern) but the UPFA was the largest group.

Alliances and parties Votes % Seats Councils
  United People's Freedom Alliance 1,027,310 51.05% 63 2
  United National Party 557,885 27.72% 29 0
  Tamil National Alliance[13] 193,827 9.63% 11 0
  Sri Lanka Muslim Congress[12] 132,917 6.61% 7 0
  Ceylon Workers' Congress 25,985 1.29% 2 0
  Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna 31,384 1.56% 1 0
National Freedom Front[11] 9,522 0.47% 1 0
Independent lists 23,625 1.17% 0 0
  Eelavar Democratic Front 2,693 0.13% 0 0
Socialist Alliance 2,480 0.12% 0 0
United Lanka People's Party 595 0.03% 0 0
United Socialist Party 485 0.02% 0 0
All Lanka Tamil United Front 460 0.02% 0 0
Sri Lanka Labour Party 449 0.02% 0 0
United Lanka Great Council 597 0.03% 0 0
Jana Setha Peramuna 398 0.02% 0 0
Patriotic National Front 334 0.02% 0 0
  Nava Sama Samaja Party 286 0.01% 0 0
Ruhuna People's Party 204 0.01% 0 0
National Development Front 203 0.01% 0 0
Our National Front 163 0.01% 0 0
New Sinhala Heritage 148 0.01% 0 0
All Are Citizens, All Are Kings Organisation 145 0.01% 0 0
Socialist Equality Party 86 0.00% 0 0
Liberal Party 74 0.00% 0 0
Muslim Liberation Front 57 0.00% 0 0
No overall control 1
Valid Votes 2,012,312 100.00% 114 3
Rejected Votes 126,427
Total Polled 2,138,739
Registered Electors 3,336,417
Turnout 64.10%
Source: [14]

Eastern Province

Results of the 2nd Eastern Provincial Council election held on 8 September 2012:[15]

Alliances and parties Ampara Batticaloa Trincomalee Bonus
Seats 		Total
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
  United People's Freedom Alliance 92,530 33.66% 5 64,190 31.17% 4 43,324 28.38% 3 2 200,044 31.58% 14
  Tamil National Alliance 44,749 16.28% 2 104,682 50.83% 6 44,396 29.08% 3 0 193,827 30.59% 11
  Sri Lanka Muslim Congress 83,658 30.43% 4 23,083 11.21% 1 26,176 17.15% 2 0 132,917 20.98% 7
  United National Party 48,028 17.47% 3 2,434 1.18% 0 24,439 16.01% 1 0 74,901 11.82% 4
Independent lists 1,178 0.43% 0 9,019 4.38% 0 2,164 1.42% 0 0 12,361 1.95% 0
National Freedom Front 9,522 6.24% 1 0 9,522 1.50% 1
  Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna 2,305 0.84% 0 72 0.03% 0 777 0.51% 0 0 3,154 0.50% 0
  Eelavar Democratic Front 531 0.19% 0 1,777 0.86% 0 385 0.25% 0 0 2,693 0.43% 0
Socialist Alliance 1,489 0.54% 0 379 0.18% 0 612 0.40% 0 0 2,480 0.39% 0
All Lanka Tamil United Front 76 0.03% 0 384 0.25% 0 0 460 0.07% 0
United Socialist Party 103 0.04% 0 37 0.02% 0 149 0.10% 0 0 289 0.05% 0
Sri Lanka Labour Party 111 0.04% 0 50 0.02% 0 107 0.07% 0 0 268 0.04% 0
Our National Front 163 0.08% 0 0 163 0.03% 0
United Lanka Great Council 10 0.00% 0 15 0.01% 0 97 0.06% 0 0 122 0.02% 0
United Lanka People's Party 74 0.03% 0 16 0.01% 0 0 90 0.01% 0
Jana Setha Peramuna 31 0.01% 0 19 0.01% 0 35 0.02% 0 0 85 0.01% 0
Patriotic National Front 7 0.00% 0 78 0.05% 0 0 85 0.01% 0
Muslim Liberation Front 42 0.02% 0 15 0.01% 0 0 57 0.01% 0
Ruhuna People's Party 13 0.00% 0 3 0.00% 0 0 16 0.00% 0
Valid Votes 274,935 100.00% 14 205,936 100.00% 11 152,663 100.00% 10 2 633,534 100.00% 37
Rejected Votes 16,744 17,223 11,324 45,291
Total Polled 291,679 223,159 163,987 678,825
Registered Electors 441,287 347,099 245,363 1,033,749
Turnout 66.10% 64.29% 66.83% 65.67%

North Central Province

Results of the 6th North Central Provincial Council election held on 8 September 2012:[16]

Alliances and parties Anuradhapura Polonnaruwa Bonus
Seats 		Total
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
  United People's Freedom Alliance 234,387 62.71% 13 104,165 58.15% 6 2 338,552 61.23% 21
  United National Party 126,184 33.76% 7 69,943 39.04% 4 0 196,127 35.47% 11
  Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna 11,684 3.13% 1 4,382 2.45% 0 0 16,066 2.91% 1
Independent lists 912 0.24% 0 272 0.15% 0 0 1,184 0.21% 0
United Lanka People's Party 226 0.06% 0 0 226 0.04% 0
Jana Setha Peramuna 178 0.05% 0 42 0.02% 0 0 220 0.04% 0
United Socialist Party 196 0.11% 0 0 196 0.04% 0
United Lanka Great Council 53 0.01% 0 91 0.05% 0 0 144 0.03% 0
Sri Lanka Labour Party 54 0.01% 0 20 0.01% 0 0 74 0.01% 0
Patriotic National Front 53 0.01% 0 19 0.01% 0 0 72 0.01% 0
Ruhuna People's Party 51 0.01% 0 16 0.01% 0 0 67 0.01% 0
Valid Votes 373,782 100.00% 21 179,146 100.00% 10 2 552,928 100.00% 33
Rejected Votes 18,218 9,792 28,010
Total Polled 392,000 188,938 580,938
Registered Electors 606,508 294,365 900,873
Turnout 64.63% 64.18% 64.49%

Sabaragamuwa Province

Results of the 6th Sabaragamuwa Provincial Council election held on 8 September 2012:[17]

Alliances and parties Kegalle Ratnapura Bonus
Seats 		Total
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
  United People's Freedom Alliance 213,734 58.08% 11 274,980 60.06% 15 2 488,714 59.18% 28
  United National Party 130,417 35.44% 6 156,440 34.17% 8 0 286,857 34.73% 14
  Ceylon Workers' Congress 8,971 2.44% 1 17,014 3.72% 1 0 25,985 3.15% 2
  Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna 4,519 1.23% 0 7,645 1.67% 0 0 12,164 1.47% 0
Independent lists 9,356 2.54% 0 724 0.16% 0 0 10,080 1.22% 0
United Lanka Great Council 239 0.06% 0 92 0.02% 0 0 331 0.04% 0
  Nava Sama Samaja Party 87 0.02% 0 199 0.04% 0 0 286 0.03% 0
United Lanka People's Party 279 0.06% 0 0 279 0.03% 0
National Development Front 203 0.06% 0 0 203 0.02% 0
Patriotic National Front 106 0.03% 0 71 0.02% 0 0 177 0.02% 0
New Sinhala Heritage 148 0.03% 0 0 148 0.02% 0
All Are Citizens, All Are Kings Organisation 70 0.02% 0 75 0.02% 0 0 145 0.02% 0
Ruhuna People's Party 46 0.01% 0 75 0.02% 0 0 121 0.01% 0
Sri Lanka Labour Party 70 0.02% 0 37 0.01% 0 0 107 0.01% 0
Jana Setha Peramuna 93 0.03% 0 0 93 0.01% 0
Socialist Equality Party 86 0.02% 0 0 86 0.01% 0
Liberal Party 74 0.02% 0 0 74 0.01% 0
Valid Votes 367,997 100.00% 18 457,853 100.00% 24 2 825,850 100.00% 44
Rejected Votes 29,065 24,061 53,126
Total Polled 397,062 481,914 878,976
Registered Electors 631,981 769,814 1,401,795
Turnout 62.83% 62.60% 62.70%

References and footnotes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 "Indo Sri Lanka Agreement, 1987". TamilNation.
  2. ↑ "Introduction". Official Website of the Government of Sri Lanka. Government of Sri Lanka.
  3. ↑ "Amendments to the 1978 Constitution". Official Website of the Government of Sri Lanka. Government of Sri Lanka.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 "North-East merger illegal: SC". LankaNewspapers.com. 17 October 2006.
  5. ↑ "Ethnic Conflict of Sri Lanka: Time Line - From Independence to 1999". International Centre for Ethnic Studies9.
  6. ↑ Ferdinando, Shamindra (10 September 2000). "I'm no traitor, says Perumal". Sunday Island (Sri Lanka).
  7. ↑ Sri Nissanka, Jayantha (30 April 2002). "Central Provincial Council : UNF takes over". Daily News (Sri Lanka).
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 The Ceylon Workers' Congress contested with the Democratic People's Front and Up-Country People's Front in two electoral districts and with the UPFA in other electoral districts.
  9. ↑ 9.0 9.1 The Communist Party of Sri Lanka contested with the Socialist Alliance in three electoral districts and with the UPFA in other electoral districts.
  10. ↑ 10.0 10.1 The Lanka Sama Samaja Party contested with the Socialist Alliance in three electoral districts and with the UPFA in other electoral districts.
  11. ↑ 11.0 11.1 The National Freedom Front contested separately in one electoral district and with the UPFA in other electoral districts.
  12. ↑ 12.0 12.1 The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress contested separately in three electoral districts and with the UPFA in other electoral districts.
  13. ↑ The TNA contested under and symbol of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi.
  14. ↑ "Provincial Council Elections 2012". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  15. ↑ "Provincial Council Elections 2012: Eastern Province". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  16. ↑ "Provincial Council Elections 2012: North Central Province". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  17. ↑ "Provincial Council Elections 2012: Sabaragamuwa Province". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.