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2010 Sri Lankan parliamentary election

Election in Sri Lanka

Field	Value
election_name	2010 Sri Lankan parliamentary election
country	Sri Lanka
type	parliamentary
ongoing	no
previous_election	2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election
previous_year	2004
outgoing_members	13th Parliament of Sri Lanka
next_election	2015 Sri Lankan parliamentary election
next_year	2015
elected_members	14th Parliament of Sri Lanka
seats_for_election	All 225 seats to the Parliament of Sri Lanka
113 seats were needed for a majority
election_date	8 April 2010 (first round)
20 April 2010 (second round)
turnout	61.26%
image1	File:The former President of Sri Lanka, Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa meeting the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, in New Delhi on September 12, 2018 (1) (cropped).JPG
leader1	Mahinda Rajapaksa
leader_since1	2005
party1	United People's Freedom Alliance
leaders_seat1	n/a
last_election1	45.60%, 105 seats
seats1	144
seat_change1	39
popular_vote1	4,846,388
percentage1	60.33%
swing1	14.73%
image2	File:Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe, at Hyderabad House, in New Delhi on November 23, 2017.jpg
leader2	Ranil Wickremesinghe
leader_since2	1994
party2	UNF
leaders_seat2	Colombo District
last_election2	37.83%, 82 seats
seats2	60
seat_change2	22
popular_vote2	2,357,057
percentage2	29.34%
swing2	8.49%
image4	File:R. Sampanthan.jpg
leader4	Rajavarothiam Sampanthan
leader_since4	2001
party4	Tamil National Alliance
leaders_seat4	Trincomalee District
last_election4	6.84%, 22 seats
seats4	14
seat_change4	8
popular_vote4	233,190
percentage4	2.90%
swing4	3.94%
image5	File:Fonseka Press Conference.jpg
leader5	Sarath Fonseka
leader_since5	2010
party5	DNA
leaders_seat5	Colombo District
last_election5	Did not exist
seats5	7
seat_change5	New party
popular_vote5	441,251
percentage5	5.49%
swing5	New party
map_image	Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election 2010.png
map_size	250px
map_caption	Winners of polling divisions. UPFA in blue, UNF in green and TNA in yellow.
title	Prime Minister
posttitle	Prime Minister after election
before_election	Ratnasiri Wickremanayake
after_election	D. M. Jayaratne
before_party	United People's Freedom Alliance
after_party	United People's Freedom Alliance

113 seats were needed for a majority 20 April 2010 (second round)

Parliamentary elections were held in Sri Lanka on 8 and 20 April 2010, to elect 225 members to Sri Lanka's 14th Parliament. 14,088,500 Sri Lankans were eligible to vote in the election at 11,102 polling stations. It was the first general election to be held in Sri Lanka following the conclusion of the civil war which lasted 26 years.

The main parties contesting in the election were the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), the main opposition United National Front (UNF) and the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) led by former commander of the Sri Lankan Army Sarath Fonseka. President Mahinda Rajapaksa had previously been reelected as president in January 2010.

As expected, the UPFA secured a landslide victory in the elections, buoyed by its achievement of ending the 30 year Sri Lankan Civil War and defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in May 2009. The UPFA won a large majority in the parliament, obtaining 144 seats, an increase of 39 since the 2004 election. The main opposition UNF won 60 seats, a decline of 22. The minority Tamil party Tamil National Alliance (TNA) won 14 seats, down from the 22 they won in 2004, and the DNA, contesting for the first time, won 7 seats. The UPFA however fell short of its goal of obtaining a two-thirds supermajority in the house, which it would have needed to change the constitution on its own. The election had the lowest voter turnout in Sri Lanka since independence.

While the elections were initially scheduled to be concluded on 8 April, irregularities in two districts led the Commissioner of Elections to hold re-polls on 20 April. Final results were announced the following day, a day before the new parliament was scheduled to meet for the first time.

Background

General elections are usually held every six years in Sri Lanka, to elect 225 members to the Parliament of Sri Lanka. The country is divided into 22 electoral districts, and each district is assigned a specific number of seats depending on the districts population, with 196 seats distributed among the districts. At the election, parties contesting in a given district are awarded a certain number of seats available from the district based on the number of votes obtained in the whole district. The remaining 29 seats are distributed amongst the contesting political parties based on the percentage of the national vote received by each party.

The previous parliamentary election was held on April 2, 2004. The newly formed UPFA alliance became the largest group in Parliament by winning 105 of the 225 seats, allowing it to form a minority government with the support of the sole Eelam People's Democratic Party MP. On April 6, 2004, President Chandrika Kumaratunga appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa, the leader of the UPFA, as the new prime minister. The rest of the government were sworn in on April 10, 2004. The new parliament was sworn in on April 22, 2004.

Since then a number of defections and counter-defections from the opposition have increased the number of government MPs to 129, most of whom have been rewarded with ministerial posts:

9 August 2004: Three Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) MPs join UPFA.
3 September 2004: Ceylon Workers' Congress (eight MPs) joins UPFA, giving it a majority in parliament.
16 June 2005: Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) (39 MPs) quits UPFA.
25 January 2006: Four United National Party MPs join UPFA.
28 January 2007: 18 UNP MPs and 6 SLMC MPs join UPFA.
30 January 2007: Jathika Hela Urumaya (eight MPs) joins UPFA.
12 December 2007: Four SLMC MPs quit the UPFA.
28 December 2008: 12 MPs, who had left the JVP in May 2008 to form the National Freedom Front, join the UPFA.

This has allowed the UPFA form a stable government for six years.

Following the expiration of the second term of President Kumaratunge, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapakse defeated the leader of the United National Party and former prime minister Ranil Wickremasinghe in the 2005 Presidential election. He was succeeded as prime minister by Ratnasiri Wickremanayake. Under Rajapakse, the Sri Lankan military defeated the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam group in May 2009, ending the 30 year Sri Lankan Civil War and significantly increasing Rajapaksa's popularity in the country. Rajapaksa rode this wave of popularity to win the 2010 Presidential election, defeating opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka by a large margin.

Details

With the term of the 13th Parliament (also known as the 6th Parliament) scheduled to end in April 2010, Rajapaksa dissolved parliament on February 9, 2010, paving the way for fresh elections. Nominations took place between February 19 and February 26, and the date of the election was set for April 8, 2010. 14,088,500 Sri Lankans were eligible to vote in the election, for which 11,102 polling stations were set up. Of this, 415,432 people were eligible to cast their vote via postal voting. Final votes were counted at 1,387 counting centers around the country.

Since the 2004 election, there were four changes to number of seats allocated to each electoral district. Anuradhapura and Gampaha gained one seat each while Colombo and Kurunegala lost a seat each.

Contesting parties

All the constituent parties of the ruling UPFA contested under its banner. The parliamentary opposition parties (the United National Front, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna and Tamil National Alliance), who had come together to support common opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka at the presidential election, were unable to form a common alliance to contest in the election. Therefore, the UNF and the TNA contested alone, while Fonseka and the JVP allied to form a new alliance called the Democratic National Alliance (DNA). Fonseka was the DNA's chief candidate in Colombo district.

The UPFA, UNF and DNA contested in all 22 electoral districts while the TNA contested in the 5 districts in the north and east. The UNF contested under the name and symbol of the United National Party, as it had done in the previous two parliamentary elections. The TNA contested under the name and symbol of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi, as it did in the last parliamentary election.

A record 7,680 candidates contested for the 196 district seats.

Violence and violations of election laws

Sri Lankan elections have a history of violence, misuse of state resources, and other violations of election laws. 274 incidents had been reported to the police up to 5 April. The Centre for Monitoring Election Violence (CMEV) recorded 413 incidents up to 7 April. The CMEV has stated that it is impossible to say if the election had been "free and fair". People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) recorded 270 incidents up to 7 April. The Campaign for Free and Fair Elections (CaFFE) has stated that the election was not free and fair. CaFFE condemned the police and election commissioner for not enforcing electoral law. The Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL) also recorded a number of violations. A significant feature of the violence was intra-party clashes between UPFA candidates.

On the day of the election, there were a number of elections violations reported around the country. The violations in the Nawalapitiya electorate of the Kandy District were serious enough for the Elections Commissioner to nullify the voting in some areas of the electorate and order a re-poll. Results from the Trincomalee District were also suspended as some ballot papers had been stolen. Re-polling for the effected polling areas took place on April 20.

Results

By district

65%
589,476
12
+3
266,523
5
−1
69,747
1
+1
0
18
67%
-
313,836
7
+1
139,596
2
−1
36,722
1
+1
0
10
67%
-
339,819
8
+3
192,798
4
−2
23,728
0
-
0
12
64%
-
131,069
4
+1
55,737
1
−1
7,636
0
-
0
5
60%
-
149,111
5
+3
96,885
2
− 2
3,984
0
-
0
7
66%
-
305,307
7
+1
120,101
2
−2
33,663
1
+1
0
10
64%
-
213,937
6
+1
91,114
2
−1
20,465
0
-
0
8
59%
-
174,808
5
-
83,027
2
-
19,186
0
-
0
7
69%
-
47,622
3
+3
12,624
1
+1
201
0
-
65,119
5
−3
0
9
23%
-
37,522
2
+2
12,783
1
-
301
0
-
41,673
3
−2
0
6
44%
-
62,009
1
+1
22,935
1
+1
324
0
-
66,235
3
−1
0
5
59%
-
132,096
4
+1
90,757
2
+1
2,917
0
-
26,895
1
-
0
7
74%
-
59,784
2
+1
39,691
1
+1
2,519
0
-
33,268
1
−1
0
4
62%
-
429,316
10
+1
213,713
5
−2
26,440
0
-
0
15
61%
-
167,769
6
+1
81,152
2
−1
8,792
0
-
0
8
57%
-
221,204
7
+2
80,360
2
−1
18,129
0
-
0
9
61%
-
118,694
4
+1
45,732
1
−1
6,457
0
-
0
5
66%
-
203,689
6
+3
112,886
2
−3
15,768
0
-
0
8
65%
-
120,634
4
+1
28,892
1
−1
9,018
0
-
0
5
56%
-
305,327
7
+1
125,076
3
−1
11,053
0
-
0
10
65%
-
242,463
7
+2
104,925
2
−2
13,518
0
-
0
9
63%
-
+4
−2
+2
−1
0
29
-
-
4,846,388
144
+39
2,357,057
60
−22
441,251
7
+7
233,190
14
−8
0
225
61%
-
}

Elected members

Main article: 14th Sri Lankan Parliament

Notes

References

(10 February 2010). "6th Parliament Dissolved". [[Parliament of Sri Lanka]].
Sirilal, Ranga. "Sri Lanka ruling party records landslide win at polls". Montrealgazette.com.
"Department of Election". Slelections.gov.lk.
(9 April 2010). "Sri Lanka ruling party wins majority in parliament". BBC News.
Haviland, Charles. (21 April 2010). "Final Sri Lanka vote count confirms Rajapaksa triumph". BBC News.
"Department of Election". Slelections.gov.lk.
(8 April 2010). "The 7th Parliamentary Election Today". [[The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)]].
Gnanadass, Wilson. (11 April 2004). "Shorter life span for minority govt.'s". [[The Sunday Leader]].
(6 April 2004). "Sri Lanka's 14th Prime Minister Mr. Mahinda Rajapakse". [[TamilNet]].
Vidanage, Harinda. (11 April 2004). "Cabinet in crisis – JVP keeps out By Harinda Vidanage". Sunday Times, Sri Lanka.
(10 April 2004). "JVP boycotts UPFA cabinet swearing in ceremony". [[TamilNet]].
(22 April 2004). "Opening of 13th Parliament today". Daily News, Sri Lanka.
de Silva, Lakshmi. (25 November 2009). "UPFA gained huge ground after 2005". Daily News, Sri Lanka.
(9 August 2004). "SLMC dissident to be made Minister in UPFA government". [[TamilNet]].
(3 September 2004). "CWC will support Kumaratunga's government – Thondaman". [[TamilNet]].
P. Krishnaswamy. (4 September 2004). "CWC announces unconditional support to UPFA Government". Daily News, Sri Lanka.
(16 June 2005). "JVP leaves coalition Government". [[TamilNet]].
Weerasinghe, Chamikara. (17 June 2005). "VP leaves Govt with regret". Daily News, Sri Lanka.
(25 January 2006). "Two UNP parliamentarians cross over". [[TamilNet]].
(25 January 2006). "Four senior UNPers join Sri Lanka govt". MahindaRajapaska.com.
(28 January 2007). "UNP dissidents, SLMC join UPFA government, appointed ministers". [[TamilNet]].
(29 January 2007). "18 jumbos cross over". Daily News, Sri Lanka.
(28 January 2007). "Sri Lankan ruling party boosts parliamentary strength". People's Daily, China.
(30 January 2007). "Monks' party to join UPFA government". [[TamilNet]].
Kirinde, Chandani. (4 February 2007). "Parliament: Old faces in new places". [[The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)]].
(4 February 2007). "JHU decides to accept portfolio to support the President". The Nation, Sri Lanka.
Mandana Ismail Abeywickrema. (7 March 2010). "The Best Among Equals". [[The Sunday Leader]].
(12 December 2007). "SLMC resigns from Rajapaksa government". [[TamilNet]].
(16 December 2007). "Why the SLMC quit the Rajapaska government". Nation, Sri Lanka.
(12 May 2008). "JVP dissidents form JNP". [[TamilNet]].
(28 December 2008). "UPFA looks for strength in alliance with JVP as election fever hots up". The Nation, Sri Lanka.
"Department of Election". Slelections.gov.lk.
"Parliamentary Elections – 2010". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
(26 February 2010). "Nominations for Parliamentary elections close". [[Sunday Times (Sri Lanka)]].
Wellaboda, Ishtartha. (28 February 2010). "Battle of Titans in Colombo". The Nation, Sri Lanka.
(6 April 2010). "Violence rages in Ampara, officials threaten boycott". [[Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)]].
(7 April 2010). "Monitoring election violence in Sri Lanka Parliamentary Election April 2010: Summary of incidents to date". Centre for Monitoring Election Violence.
Burke, Jason. (9 April 2010). "Sri Lanka's President Rajapaska's party looks set for election victory". The Guardian.
(7 April 2010). "Parliamentary General Elections –2010 Third interim report – 7th April 2010". People's Action for Free and Fair Elections.
(9 April 2010). "Sri Lanka ruling party wins majority in parliament". BBC News.
(8 April 2010). "CaFFE Election Day Press Release". Campaign for Free and Fair Elections.
Kelum Bandara and Yohan Perera. (9 April 2010). "Some candidates violated the law – Asian monitors". [[Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka)]].
(2010-04-09). "N'pitiya repoll to be Gazetted". Dailymirror.lk.
(2010-04-09). "Trinco results suspended". Dailymirror.lk.
[http://psephos.adam-carr.net/countries/s/srilanka/srilanka2010leg.txt Elections to the National Assembly] Sri Lanka government election website

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