2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Sri Lanka on 2 April 2004. The ruling United National Party of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was defeated, winning only eighty two seats in the 225-member Sri Lankan parliament. The opposition United People's Freedom Alliance won 105 seats. While this was eight seats short of an absolute majority, the Alliance was able to form a government.

13th Sri Lankan parliamentary election
2 April 2004
All 225 seats to the Parliament of Sri Lanka
113 seats were needed for a majority
Turnout75.96%
  First party Second party
 
Leader Chandrika Kumaratunga Ranil Wickremesinghe
Party United People's Freedom Alliance United National Front
Leader since 1994 1994
Leader's seat n/a Colombo District
Last election 77 seats, 37.20% [lower-alpha 1] 109 seats, 45.60%
Seats won 105 82
Seat change 12 27
Popular vote 4,223,970 3,504,200
Percentage 45.60% 37.83%
Swing -0.01% -7.73%
Winners of polling divisions. UPFA in blue and UNF in green.
Prime Minister before election

Ranil Wickremesinghe
United National Front

 Prime Minister-designate

Mahinda Rajapaksa
United People's Freedom Alliance

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On 6 April President Chandrika Kumaratunga commissioned Mahinda Rajapaksa, a former Labour Minister, as Prime Minister.

Parties

The United People's Freedom Alliance was formed as an alliance between President Kumaratunga's party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), and the leftist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna. Other parties that belong to the People's Alliance, such as the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, the Democratic United National Front, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, Mahajana Eksath Peramuna and the Sri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya, later joined UPFA.

In the 2001 elections, the People's Alliance and Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna had fought separately. Then the JVP won 9.1% of the vote and sixteen seats. At this election it is reported than as many as thirty nine JVP members won seats as UPFA candidates.

The runner-up in the election was the United National Front (UNF), the front led by the United National Party. In addition to the UNP, the UNF also had candidates from minor parties such as Ceylon Workers Congress.

Other parties winning seats were the Buddhist, Sinhala nationalist outfit Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), the pro-LTTE alliance Tamil National Alliance (TNA), the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the Eelam People's Democratic Party (EPDP). The Democratic Peoples Liberation Front (the political wing of PLOTE) lost their parliamentary representation.

Campaign

Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe's UNF government had been in limbo since October 2003, when President Kumaratunga declared a state of emergency and took three key cabinet portfolios for her party. During the campaign, she argued that Wickremasinghe had been too soft on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and promised to take a harder line. The UNF, for its part, stressed the economic gains that had been made with the ceasefire and the need to find a negotiated solution to the civil war.

Voting

Polling booths opened at 07:00 local time and remained open until 16:00 (01:00 to 10:00 UTC). A total of 10,670 polling stations were installed to receive votes from 12.9 million eligible voters. Voter turnout was high, at around 75%.

The backdrop to polling day was tense, with continued guerrilla activity by Tamil Tiger separatists and five politically motivated murders in the run-up to the election. However, except for a slightly lower turnout in the Eastern Province, Sri Lanka and allegations of fraud in the North, the election was calm and orderly.

Sri Lanka's Elections Commissioner Dayananda Dissanayake said that despite reported cases of electoral malpractice in certain polling stations in six electoral districts, there would be no fresh elections in these areas and the results issued by the Commission were final.

Results

Summary

The United People's Freedom Alliance vote and seat totals are compared with the combined People's Alliance and JVP vote and seat counts at the 2001 election.

Summary of the 2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election[1][2]

 
Alliances and partiesVotes%Seats
DistrictNationalTotal
 United People's Freedom Alliance 4,223,97045.60%9213105
 United National Front[lower-alpha 2] 3,504,20037.83%711182
 Tamil National Alliance[lower-alpha 4] 633,6546.84%20222
 Jathika Hela Urumaya554,0765.97%729
 Sri Lanka Muslim Congress[lower-alpha 3]186,8762.02%415
 Up-Country People's Front49,7280.54%101
 Eelam People's Democratic Party24,9550.27%101
 Independents15,8650.17%000
National Development Front14,9560.16%000
 United Socialist Party14,6600.16%000
Ceylon Democratic Unity Alliance10,7360.12%000
 New Left Front8,4610.09%000
 Democratic People's Liberation Front 7,3260.08%000
United Muslim People's Alliance3,7790.04%000
United Lalith Front3,7730.04%000
National People's Party1,5400.02%000
 Sinhalaye Mahasammatha Bhoomiputra Pakshaya1,4010.02%000
Swarajya1,1360.01%000
 Sri Lanka Progressive Front8140.01%000
Ruhuna People's Party5900.01%000
Sri Lanka National Front4930.01%000
Liberal Party4130.00%000
Sri Lanka Muslim Party3820.00%000
 Socialist Equality Party1590.00%000
Democratic United National Front1410.00%000
Valid Votes9,262,732100.00%19629225
Rejected Votes534,948
Total Polled9,797,680
Registered Electors12,899,139
Turnout75.96%

Province
Further information: Results of the 2004 Sri Lankan general election by province

Electoral district
Further information: Results of the 2004 Sri Lankan general election by electoral district
District UNP UPFA Other Valid
Votes
Anuradhapura 148,612 (39.9%)
3 seats		 212,943 (57.2%)
5 seats		 JHU: 8,034 (2.2%) 372,125
Badulla 181,705 (49.1%)
5 seats		 178,634 (48.3%)
3 seats		 JHU: 6,932 (1.9%) 370,178
Batticaloa 6,151 (2.5%) 26,268 (10.9%) ITAK: 161,011 (66.7%)
4 seats
SLMC: 43,131 (17.9%)
1 seat		 241,375
Colombo 441,841 (41.8%)
9 seats		 414,688 (39.2%)
8 seats		 JHU: 190,618 (18.0%)
3 seats		 1,057,966
Digamadulla 42,121 (14.5%)
1 seat		 111,747 (38.5%)
3 seats		 SLMC: 76,563 (26.4%)
2 seats
ITAK: 55,533 (19.1%)
1 seat
EPDP: 1,611 (0.5%)
JHU: 1,130 (0.4%)		 290,361
Galle 209,399 (38.7%)
4 seats		 306,385 (56.6%)
6 seats		 JHU: 22,826 (4.2%) 541,511
Gampaha 367,572 (37.1%)
6 seats		 509,963 (51.5%)
9 seats		 JHU: 102,516 (19.4%)
2 seats		 990,002
Hambantota 98,877 (35.4%)
2 seats		 178,895 (64.0)
5 seats		 JHU: 1,538 (0.5%) 279,310
Jaffna - - ITAK: 257,320 (90.6%)
8 seats
EPDP: 18,612 (6.5%)
1 seat
SLMC: 1,995 (0.7%)		 284,026
Kaluthara 212,721 (37.8%)
3 seats		 291,208 (51.7%)
6 seats		 JHU: 56,615 (10.1)
1 seat		 563,019
Kandy 313,859 (50.0%)
6 seats		 268,131 (42.7%)
5 seats		 JHU: 42,192 (6.7%)
1 seat		 627,866
Kegalle 186,641 (44.3%)
4 seats		 214,267 (50.9%)
5 seats		 JHU: 18,034 (4.3%) 421,131
Kurunegala 340,768 (42.9%)
7 seats		 412,157 (51.9%)
9 seats		 JHU: 37,459 (4.7%) 793,647
Matale 100,642 (45.7%)
2 seats		 108,259 (49.2%)
3 seats		 JHU: 8,819 (4.0%) 220,062
Matara 139,633 (34.9%)
3 seats		 241,235 (60.3%)
5 seats		 JHU: 16,229 (4.0%) 400,233
Monaragala 71,067 (37.0)
2 seats		 117,456 (61.1%)
3 seats		 JHU: 2,675 (1.4%) 192,113
Nuwara-Eliya 176,971 (54.0%)
4 seats		 82,945 (25.3%)
2 seats		 JHU: 4,454 (1.4%)
Other: 63,239 (19.3%)
1 seat		 327,609
Polonnaruwa 75,664 (40.8%)
2 seats		 106,243 (57.3%)
3 seats		 JHU: 2,413 (1.3%) 185,261
Puttalam 135,152 (46.6%)
3 seats		 142,784 (49.3%)
5 seats		 JHU: 10,000 (3.4%) 289,763
Ratnapura 205,490 (41.8%)
4 seats		 261,450 (53.1%)
6 seats		 JHU: 20,801 (4.2%) 492,003
Trincomalee 15,693 (8.6%) 31,053 (17.0%)
1 seat		 ITAK: 68,955 (37.7%)
2 seats
SLMC: 65,187 (35.7%)
1 seat
JHU: 791 (0.4%)
EPDP: 540 (0.3%)		 182,794
Vanni 33,621 (23.9%)
1 seat		 7,259 (05.2%) ITAK: 90,835 (64.7%)
5 seats
EPDP: 1,097 (0.8%)		 140,377

Elected members

Notes
  1. As People's Alliance
  2. The UNF contested under the name and symbol of United National Party.
  3. The SLMC contested separately in four districts (Ampara, Batticaloa, Jaffna and Trincomalee) and with the UNF in all other districts.
  4. The TNA contested under the name and symbol of Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi.

References
  1. "Parliamentary General Election 2004 - All Island Result". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
  2. "Parliamentary General Election 2004 - Composition of Parliament". Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
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