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Kelaniya Electoral District
Kelaniya electoral district was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between August 1947 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Kelaniya in present-day Gampaha District, Western Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the proportional representation electoral system for electing members of Parliament. The existing 160 mainly single-member electoral districts were replaced with 22 multi-member electoral district An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...s. Kelaniya electoral district was replaced by the Gampaha multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections, the first under the PR system, though Kelaniya continues to be a polling division of the multi-member electoral district. Members of Parliament Key Elections 1 ...
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Electoral District
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity) created to provide its population with representation in the larger state's legislative body. That body, or the state's constitution or a body established for that purpose, determines each district's boundaries and whether each will be represented by a single member or multiple members. Generally, only voters (''constituents'') who reside within the district are permitted to vote in an election held there. District representatives may be elected by a first-past-the-post system, a proportional representative system, or another voting method. They may be selected by a direct election under universal suffrage, an indirect election, or another form of suffrage. Terminology The names for electoral districts vary across countries and, oc ...
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1952 Ceylonese Parliamentary Election
Parliamentary elections were held in Ceylon in 1952. It is notable for being the second and final election overseen and administered by the Department of Parliamentary Elections before its merger in 1955. Background Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake died in March 1952, and was succeeded by his son, Dudley. The national wave of mourning for Ceylon's first prime minister greatly boosted the UNP's fortunes. The 1952 election was the first contested by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, which had broken away from the UNP on a platform of Sinhala nationalism, and the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (Federal Party), which split from the All Ceylon Tamil Congress over joining the UNP government. Results Because the estate Tamils had been stripped of their citizenship by the Senanayake government, the Ceylon Indian Congress, which most of them had supported, was eliminated from Parliament and the Lanka Sama Samaja Party lost seats. The UNP won a majority, mainly at the cost of the CIC and t ...
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Ossie Abeygunasekera
Ahangama Withanage Oswin Nandimithra Abeyagoonasekera (known as ''Ossie Abeygunasekera'') was a Member of Parliament and chairman and the leader of the Sri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya or Party. He was assassinated by a female suicide bomber of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) while attending an election rally in support of Gamini Dissanayake, for the Presidential election of 1994. He was an alumnus of Ananda College, St.Benedict's College Colombo. He was arrested as a Naxalite Prisoner in 1982 along with Vijaya Kumaratunga for printing the "Rice ration book". In 1986, he negotiated with the LTTE for a peaceful solution for the ethnic conflict and for the release of the Sri Lankan soldiers who was captured. After the death of his close friend Vijaya Kumaratunga, founder of the Sri Lanka Mahajana Party, he became the leader in 1988 until his death in 1994. He contested the Presidential election in 1989, creating the United Socialist Alliance(USA). During the 1989 youth ...
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Mahajana Eksath Peramuna
The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) is a political party in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an .... The party is currently led by Prime minister of Sri Lanka, Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena, son of Philip Gunawardena, the founder of the party. History Under Philip Gunawardena The MEP was founded in 1959 by Philip Gunawardena and PH William de Silva. The party was named after the Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (1956), an SLFP-led alliance which Gunawardena was a member of, after its disbandment that year. During the March 1960 Ceylonese parliamentary election, March 1960 Ceylonese parliamentary elections, the MEP obtained 10 parliamentary seats. In the 1960s the group joined with the Lanka Sama Samaja Party and the Communist Party of Sri La ...
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Vivienne Goonewardena
Violet Vivienne Goonewardene ( si, වයලට් විවියන් ගුන්වර්ධන, ta, வயலட் விவியென் கூனவர்தன; 18 September 19163 October 1996), commonly known as "Vivi", was a Sri Lankan anti-colonial activist and prominent politician, serving as one of the world's first female ministers. A key figure in both the Indian independence movement and the Sri Lankan independence movement, Goonewardene was a prominent member on the non-aligned stage, where she fought against perceived injustices and was critical of the Middle East diplomacy sponsored by the United States. Goonewardene was the first and, to date, only female National Hero of Sri Lanka. By her death, she was one of the Left's most vibrant personalities, and the foremost female figure in the Sri Lankan leftist movement. Born into an affluent family to a pro-monarchy conservative, while at secondary school, Goonewardene became involved in the anti-imperialist S ...
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Vimala Wijewardene
Vimala Wijewardene (Vimala; ''née'' Silva; 7 August 1908 – 27 January 1994) was a Ceylonese politician and the country's first female cabinet minister. Marriage and family Following the death of her older sister, Vimala married her sister's widower Don Charles Wijewardene (1892-1956) at age eighteen. He was the fifth son of Don Philip Tudugala Wijewardene; a timber merchant of Sedavatta and Helena Dep (''née'' Weerasinghe) and the younger brother of newspaper magnate Don Richard. They had three children; Ananda, Padmini, and Rukmini. Don Charles helped unite the Sangha in support of the restoration of independence in Ceylon. He was responsible for compiling the book ''Dharma Vijaya'' (Triumph of Righteousness) or ''The Revolt in the Temple''. Published in English in 1953, the book brought accolades from all parts of the world. It acknowledged the ugliness of colonial rule, the sublime nature of Buddhism, and the values it imparted. His mother, Helena was responsible fo ...
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Cyril Mathew
Caluadewage Cyril Mathew (30 September 1912 – 17 October 1989) was a United National Party member of parliament, representing the Kelaniya electorate, and served as the Minister of Industry and Scientific Affairs in the Jayewardene cabinet (1977–1986). Mathew who joined the United National Party was appointed its joint general secretary in 1956 and served till 1967, when he resigned after falling out with the party leader Dudley Senanayake. Mathew was elected to the House of Representatives of Ceylon in the 1960 March general elections from Kolonna from the United National Part and was re-elected in the 1960 July general elections. He contested the 1965 general elections from Bandarawela and was defeated by R. M. Appuhamy. He was elected at the 8th parliamentary elections, held on 21 July 1977, representing the Kelaniya electorate for the United National Party. He was known for his hard-line position against the Tamil's political aspirations. He was appointed ...
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1977 Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election
Parliamentary elections were held in Sri Lanka on 21 July 1977. The result was a landslide victory for the United National Party, which won 140 of the 168 seats in the National State Assembly. Background Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike had become extraordinarily unpopular. Her economic policies had led to industrial growth and self-reliance, but were 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 ...
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1970 Ceylonese Parliamentary Election
Parliamentary elections were held in Ceylon in 1970. Background SLFP leader Sirimavo Bandaranaike had come to the conclusion that her party's best hope of power was forming a permanent alliance with Ceylon's Marxist parties. She assembled the SLFP, the Trotskyist LSSP, and the Communists into the United Front coalition. The UF's platform was called the ''Common Programme''; it featured extensive nationalization, a non-aligned foreign policy, expanded social programmes, and replacement of the British-imposed, monarchical Soulbury constitution with a republican constitution. The UNP government of Dudley Senanayake had not made much headway with Ceylon's twin problems of inflation and unemployment, nor had it attempted solving the linked problems of feudal property relations and adverse terms of trade by agrarian reform and industrialisation. The UNP had become widely perceived as a party of the rich, out of touch with the concerns of ordinary people. The UF's socialist platfor ...
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1965 Ceylonese Parliamentary Election
Parliamentary elections were held in Ceylon in March 1965. Background The SLFP government of Sirimavo Bandaranaike lost its majority in December 1964 when some MPs deserted it over the nationalization of Lakehouse Newspapers. Bandaranaike's program of extensive nationalization had alarmed many of the island's business interests, which rallied to the United National Party. The economy had been stagnant, and rationing had been imposed in the face of persistent food shortages. The UNP promised to form a ''National Front'' government to oppose the SLFP and its Marxist allies. UNP leader Dudley Senanayake promised cabinet posts both to the small Sinhala nationalist parties and the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (Federal Party). Results The UNP did not obtain a majority, but was able to govern as a National Front with the ITAK's support. Notes References * * * * * {{Sri Lankan elections Ceylon Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅk ...
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Sri Lanka Freedom Party
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය, translit=Śrī Laṁkā Nidahas Pakṣaya; ta, இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி, translit=Ilaṅkai Cutantirak Kaṭci) is one of the major and most well known political parties in Sri Lanka. It was founded by S.W.R.D Bandaranaike in 1951 and, since then, has been one of the two largest parties in the Sri Lankan political arena. It first came to power in 1956 and since then has been the predominant party in government on a number of occasions. The party is generally considered as having a democratic socialist or progressive economic agenda and is often associated with nationalist Sinhalese parties. The party follows a Non-Aligned foreign policy but always had close ties to socialist nations. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party is a Second Main constituent party in the Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance. History After independence, the SLFP represented ...
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July 1960 Ceylonese Parliamentary Election
Snap parliamentary elections were held in Ceylon in July 1960. Background The March 1960 election had left neither of Ceylon's two major parties with a majority, so another election was inevitable. The Sri Lanka Freedom Party, which had been in disarray since the murder of its leader S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike the previous year, settled on his widow, Sirimavo, as its new leader. She pledged to continue her husband's policies, notably the Sinhala Only Act, and to proceed with repatriation of the estate Tamils to India. However, she promised to reach a compromise with the Federal Party. The United National Party, led by Dudley Senanayake, refused to compromise with the Federal Party. It also differed with the SLFP over economic policy. The SLFP called for a socialist program of nationalization of both private enterprises and religious schools; the UNP preferred to leave both in private hands. Results The SLFP obtained a bare majority, despite getting a lower share of the popul ...
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