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 ...

has held several rounds of Provincial Council elections in 2008 and 2009 to elect members to eight of the country’s

Provincial Councils A province is a geographic region within Gaelic games, consisting of several County (Gaelic games), counties of the Gaelic Athletic Association (GAA) and originally based on the historic four provinces of Ireland as they were set in 1610. Provin ...

. The decision to hold elections in different parts of the country on separate days was a break in the usual practice, which is to hold elections for the whole country on the same day. For each provincial council, members are elected to serve a five-year term. A

chief minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

for the province is chosen by the elected members. The first

election An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

was held in May 2008 to elect members to Sri Lanka's

Eastern Provincial Council The Eastern Provincial Council (EPC ta, கிழக்கு மாகாண சபை ''Kiḻakku Mākāṇa Capai''; si, නැගෙනහිර පළාත් සභාව “Nagenahira Palat Sabava”; EPC) is the provincial council for ...

. In August 2008, elections were held in the North Central and

Sabaragamuwa The Sabaragamuwa Province ( si, සබරගමුව පළාත ''Sabaragamuwa Paḷāta'', ta, சபரகமுவ மாகாணம் ''Sabaragamuwa Mākāṇam'') is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrati ...

Provinces. In 2009, elections were held for

Central Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

and North Western Provincial Councils in February, for the

Western Provincial Council The Western Province ( si, බස්නාහිර පළාත ''Basnāhira Paḷāta''; ta, மேல் மாகாணம் ''Mael Mākāṇam'') is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of the c ...

in April, for the

Uva Provincial Council Uva Province ( si, ඌව පළාත, Uva Paḷāta, ta, ஊவா மாகாணம், Uvā Mākāṇam) is Sri Lanka's second least populated Provinces of Sri Lanka, province, with 1,259,880 people, created in 1896. It consists of two dis ...

in August and for the

Southern Provincial Council The Southern Province ( si, දකුණු පළාත ''Dakuṇu Paḷāta'', ta, தென் மாகாணம் ''Theṉ Mākāṇam'') of Sri Lanka is one of the nine provinces of Sri Lanka, the first level administrative division of t ...

in October. No election was held for the ninth provincial council,

Northern Northern may refer to the following: Geography * North, a point in direction * Northern Europe, the northern part or region of Europe * Northern Highland, a region of Wisconsin, United States * Northern Province, Sri Lanka * Northern Range, a ra ...

, which had been governed directly by the national government since it was demerged from the

North Eastern Provincial Council The North Eastern Province was one of the provinces of Sri Lanka. The province was created in September 1988 by merging the Northern and Eastern provinces. This merger was declared illegal by the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka in 2006. The province ...

in January 2007. The elections were largely seen as a referendum on the handling of the

civil war A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies ...

by Sri Lanka's President

Mahinda Rajapakse Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...

. Rajapakse's

United People's Freedom Alliance The United People's Freedom Alliance (abbreviated UPFA; si, එක්සත් ජනතා නිදහස් සන්ධානය ''Eksath Janathā Nidahas Sandānaya''; ta, ஐக்கிய மக்கள் சுதந்திரக� ...

and its allies registered resounding victories over the opposition

United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...

in all the elections.

Background

In an attempt to end the Sri Lankan Civil War the

Indo-Lanka Accord The Indo-Sri Lanka Peace Accord was an accord signed in Colombo on 29 July 1987, between Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and Sri Lankan President J. R. Jayewardene. The accord was expected to resolve the Sri Lankan Civil War by enabling th ...

was signed on 29 July 1987. One of the requirements of the accord was that the

Sri Lankan government The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා රජය, Śrī Lankā Rajaya; ta, இலங்கை அரசாங்கம்) is a parliamentary system determined by the Sri Lankan Constitution. It administers the is ...

devolve Devolution is the statutory delegation of powers from the central government of a sovereign state to govern at a subnational level, such as a regional or local level. It is a form of administrative decentralization. Devolved territories h ...

powers to the provinces. Accordingly on 14 November 1987 the

Sri Lankan Parliament The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ila� ...

passed the 13th

Amendment An amendment is a formal or official change made to a law, contract, constitution, or other legal document. It is based on the verb to amend, which means to change for better. Amendments can add, remove, or update parts of these agreements. They ...

to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka and the Provincial Councils Act No 42 of 1987. On 3 February 1988 nine provincial councils were created by order. The first elections for provincial councils took place on 28 April 1988 in North Central, North Western,

, and

Uva UVA most often refers to: * Ultraviolet A, a type of ultraviolet radiation * University of Virginia, a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia, United States Uva or UVA may also refer to: Places * Uva, Missouri, an unincorpora ...

provinces. On 2 June 1988 elections were held for provincial councils for

Southern Southern may refer to: Businesses * China Southern Airlines, airline based in Guangzhou, China * Southern Airways, defunct US airline * Southern Air, air cargo transportation company based in Norwalk, Connecticut, US * Southern Airways Express, M ...

and

Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...

provinces. The

(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 Administrative division, administrative unit,Article 3(1). country subdivision, administrative region, subnational entity, constituent state, as well as many similar terms, are generic names for geographical areas into which a particular, ind ...

. The accord required a

referendum A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...

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 The President of Sri Lanka ( si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජනාධිපති ''Śrī Laṃkā Janādhipathi''; ta, இலங்கை சனாதிபதி ''Ilankai janātipati'') is the head of state and head of government of t ...

to postpone the referendum at his

discretion Discretion has the meaning of acting on one's own authority and judgment. In law, discretion as to legal rulings, such as whether evidence is excluded at a trial, may be exercised by a judge. Some view discretion negatively, while some view it ...

. On September 2 and 8 1988 President Jayewardene issued

proclamations A proclamation (Lat. ''proclamare'', to make public by announcement) is an official declaration issued by a person of authority to make certain announcements known. Proclamations are currently used within the governing framework of some nations ...

enabling the Eastern and Northern provinces to be one administrative unit administered by one elected council, creating the North Eastern Province. Elections in the newly merged North Eastern Province were held on 19 November 1988. The

Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front The Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (EPRLF) is a series of Sri Lankan political parties and a former militant separatist group. Militant separatists The EPRLF was formed in 1980 by K. Pathmanabha (Padmanaba), Douglas Devananda, Su ...

, an Indian backed

paramilitary group A paramilitary is an organization whose structure, tactics, training, subculture, and (often) function are similar to those of a professional military, but is not part of a country's official or legitimate armed forces. Paramilitary units carr ...

, won control of the North Eastern provincial council. On 1 March 1990, just as the

Indian Peace Keeping Force Indian Peace Keeping Force (IPKF) was the Indian military contingent performing a peacekeeping operation in Sri Lanka between 1987 and 1990. It was formed under the mandate of the 1987 Indo-Sri Lankan Accord that aimed to end the Sri Lankan ...

were preparing to withdraw from Sri Lanka, Annamalai Varatharajah Perumal,

Chief Minister A chief minister is an elected or appointed head of government of – in most instances – a sub-national entity, for instance an administrative subdivision or federal constituent entity. Examples include a state (and sometimes a union terri ...

of the North Eastern Province, moved a motion in the North Eastern Provincial Council declaring an

independent Independent or Independents may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Artist groups * Independents (artist group), a group of modernist painters based in the New Hope, Pennsylvania, area of the United States during the early 1930s * Independ ...

Eelam Eelam ( ta, ஈழம், ''īḻam'', , also spelled Eezham, Ilam or Izham in English) is the native Tamil name for the South Asian island now known as Sri Lanka. The exact etymology and the original meaning of the word are not clearly kno ...

. 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 The Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) ( ta, இலங்கை தொழிலாளர் காங்கிரஸ், translit=Ilaṅkai Toḻilāḷar Kāṅkiras; si, ලංකා කම්කරු කොංග්‍රසය ''Lanka Kamkaru ...

(CWC) . The UNP regained control of the Central Provincial Council in 2002 after the CWC councillors crossed over to the opposition. The 4th Sri Lankan provincial council election was held in 2004 in seven provinces. The

(UPFA), the successor to the PA, won all seven provinces.

Results

The UPFA won all eight provinces.

Overall

Central Province

Eastern Province

North Central Province

, - ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="2" rowspan="2" , Party ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="2" ,

Anuradhapura Anuradhapura ( si, අනුරාධපුරය, translit=Anurādhapuraya; ta, அனுராதபுரம், translit=Aṉurātapuram) is a major city located in north central plain of Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of North Central ...

! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="2" ,

Polonnaruwa Poḷonnaruwa, ( si, පොළොන්නරුව, translit=Poḷonnaruva; ta, பொலன்னறுவை, translit=Polaṉṉaṟuvai) also referred as Pulathisipura and Vijayarajapura in ancient times, is the main town of Polonnaruwa Dis ...

! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="3" , Seats ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="2" , Popular Vote , - ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Votes ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Seats ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Votes ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Seats ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , 2004 ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , 2009 ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , +/− ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Vote ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , % , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align: left" ,

, 199,547 , 12 , 107,910 , 6 , 22 , 20 , −2 , style="text-align:right;" , 307,457 , 56.37% , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align: left" ,

, 142,019 , 8 , 63,265 , 4 , 10 , 12 , +2 , style="text-align:right;" , 205,284 , 37.64% , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align: left" ,

Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP; ) is a Marxist–Leninist communist party and a former militant organization in Sri Lanka. The movement was involved in two armed uprisings against the government of Sri Lanka: once in 1971 (SLFP), and anot ...

, 19,357 , 1 , 7,381 , 0 , 0 , 1 , +1 , style="text-align:right;" , 26,738 , 4.90% , - ! colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Total , 382,677 , 21 , 190,845 , 10 , 33 , 33 , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 573,522 , 100% , - ! style=text-align:left colspan=11, Voter turnout: 67.75% , - , style="background-color: #e9e9e9; text-align: left; border-right: none; font-size: smaller" colspan="11" , Source
Sri Lanka Department of Elections
Notes: :1. Includes 2 bonus seats :2. Contested in 2004 as part of the UPFA

North Western Province

Sabaragamuwa Province

, - ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="2" rowspan="2" , Party ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="2" ,

Ratnapura Ratnapura (; ) ("City of Gems" in Sinhala and Tamil) is a major city in Sri Lanka. It is the capital city of Sabaragamuwa Province, as well as the Ratnapura District, and is a traditional centre for the Sri Lankan gem trade. It is located ...

! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="2" ,

, 260,218 , 13 , 212,571 , 7 , 28 , 25 , −3 , style="text-align:right;" , 472,789 , 55.34% , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align: left" ,

, 191,996 , 10 , 154,325 , 7 , 15 , 17 , +2 , style="text-align:right;" , 346,321 , 40.53% , - , style="background-color:" , , style="text-align: left" ,

, 9,703 , 1 , 9,365 , 1 , 0 , 2 , +2 , style="text-align:right;" , 19,068 , 2.23% , - ! colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Total , 497,013 , 24 , 404,660 , 18 , 44 , 44 , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 901,673 , 100% , - ! style=text-align:left colspan=11, Voter turnout: 68.37% , - , style="background-color: #e9e9e9; text-align: left; border-right: none; font-size: smaller" colspan="11" , Source
Sri Lanka Department of Elections
Notes: :1. Includes 2 bonus seats :2. Contested in 2004 as part of the UPFA

Southern Province

Results of the 6th Southern provincial council election held on 10 October 2009:

Uva Province

The Uva Provincial Council was prematurely dissolved on 29 May 2009 by governor Nanda Mathew. The term of the council was due to expire in August. The Election Commissioner subsequently announced that nominations will be received from June 17 to June 23, to elect 21 members from the

Badulla District Badulla District ( si, බදුල්ල දිස්ත්‍රික්කය ''badūlla distrikkaya''; ta, பதுளை மாவட்டம் ''Patuḷai māvaṭṭam'') is a district in Uva Province, Sri Lanka. The entire land area o ...

and 11 members from the

Monaragala District Monaragala (, ) is a district in Uva Province of Sri Lanka. It is the second largest of the 25 districts in Sri Lanka, with an area of . Main Towns * Monaragala * Bibile * Buttala * Wellawaya * Kataragama * Siyambalanduva * medagama * Thanama ...

. After the close of nominations, the date of the elections was announced as 8 August 2009. Results of the 5th Uva provincial council election held on 8 August 2009:

Western Province

, - ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="2" rowspan="2" , Party ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="2" ,

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="2" ,

Gampaha Gampaha (Sinhala: ගම්පහ ; Tamil: கம்பஹா ) is an urban city in Gampaha District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is situated to the north-east of the capital Colombo. It is the sixth largest urban area in Western Province, ...

! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="2" ,

Kaluthara Kalutara ( si, කළුතර, ta, களுத்துறை) or Kalutota is a major city in Kalutara District, Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is also the administrative capital of Kalutara District. It is located approximately south of ...

! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="3" , Seats ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:center;" colspan="2" , Popular Vote , - ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Votes ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Seats ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Votes ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Seats ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Votes ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Seats ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , 2004 ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , 2009 ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , +/− ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , Vote ! style="background-color:#E9E9E9;text-align:right;" , % , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align: left" ,

, 530,370 , 25 , 624,530 , 27 , 351,215 , 14 , 59 , 68 , +9 , style="text-align:right;" , 1,506,115 , 64.73% , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align: left" ,

, 327,571 , 15 , 236,256 , 10 , 124,426 , 5 , 39 , 30 , −9 , style="text-align:right;" , 688,253 , 29.58% , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align: left" ,

, 21,787 , 1 , 21,491 , 1 , 13,106 , 1 , 0 , 3 , +3 , style="text-align:right;" , 56,384 , 2.43% , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align: left" ,

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress ( ta, சிறீலங்கா முஸ்லீம் காங்கிரஸ், translit=Srīlaṅkā Muslīm Kāṅkiras; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා මුස්ලිම් කොංග්‍රස� ...

, 18,978 , 1 , 18,014 , 1 , 12,396 , 0 , 4 , 2 , −2 , style="text-align:right;" , 49,388 , 2.12% , - , style="background-color:", , style="text-align: left" ,

Democratic Unity Alliance The Democratic Unity Alliance ( ta, சனநாயக ஒன்றுமைக் கூட்டணி ''Caṉanāyaka Oṉṟumaik Kūṭṭaṇi'') is a registered political party in Sri Lanka. It was founded in 2004 after A. J. M. Muzammil an ...

, 8,584 , 1 , 1,424 , 0 , 1,962 , 0 , 1 , 1 , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 11,970 , 0.51% , - ! colspan=2 style="text-align:left;" , Total , 957,035 , 43 , 932,360 , 39 , 526,484 , 20 , 104 , 104 , 0 , style="text-align:right;" , 2,415,879 , 100% , - ! style=text-align:left colspan=13, Voter turnout: 63.24% , - , style="background-color: #e9e9e9; text-align: left; border-right: none; font-size: smaller" colspan="13" , Source
Sri Lanka Department of Elections
Notes: :1. Includes 2 bonus seats :2. Contested in 2004 as part of the UPFA

References

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Sri Lanka Provincial Council elections, 2008-09