2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election

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2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election

← 2020 14 November 2024
← outgoing members
All 225 seats in the Parliament of Sri Lanka 113 seats needed for a majority
Registered	17,140,354[1]
Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa Sajith Premadasa Anura Kumara Dissanayake Party SLPP SJB NPP Leader's seat Not contesting Colombo Not contesting[a] Last election 59.09%, 145 seats[b] 23.90%, 54 seats 3.84%, 3 seats Current seats 106 seats 72 seats 3 seats Seats needed 7 41 110
Incumbent Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya NPP

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Background
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Opponents & demands Opponents Rajapaksa family & SLPP politicians Ranil Wickremesinghe & UNP politicians Demands 1. Resignation of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa 2. Accountability for corruption 3. Economic reforms 4. Access to essential services 5. Political reforms 6. Youth participation
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Parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka are scheduled for 14 November 2024 to elect 225 members to the new parliament. The 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka was dissolved on 24 September 2024.^[2][3][4] The submission of nominations for the upcoming election commenced on 4 October and concluded on 11 October 2024 at 12:00 SLST.^[5][6]

Following the election, the newly elected 17th Parliament of Sri Lanka is expected to convene on 21 November 2024.^[7][8]

The Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance (SLPFA), led by Mahinda Rajapaksa, won a large majority in the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election on 5 August 2020.^[9] During their tenure, the government under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa faced multiple crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic, the economic crisis, widespread protests, and the 2022 Sri Lankan political crisis.^[10]

These events led to Gotabaya Rajapaksa fleeing the country and resigning as president, while Mahinda Rajapaksa also stepped down as prime minister.^[11][12] Ranil Wickremesinghe was first appointed as prime minister and later became the acting president following Gotabaya Rajapaksa's resignation. In a parliamentary vote on 20 July 2024, Wickremesinghe was elected as Sri Lanka's 9th president, tasked with completing the remainder of Rajapaksa's term.^[13]

In the 2024 Sri Lankan presidential election held on 21 September 2024, Anura Kumara Dissanayake defeated his main rivals, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, to become the new President of Sri Lanka.^[14]

As per the Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 1 of 1981, although the Sri Lankan parliament has a term of five years, the president can dissolve it after two years and six months from its first meeting or upon receiving a resolution from parliament. In spite of the scheduled end in August 2025, President Dissanayake, exercising his constitutional powers and fulfilling an election pledge, dissolved parliament on 21 September 2024.^[15][16][17]

The Parliament has 225 members elected for a five-year term. 196 members are elected from 22 multi-seat constituencies through an open list proportional representation with a 5% electoral threshold; voters can rank up to three candidates on the party list they vote for.^[26] The other 29 seats are elected from a national list, with list members appointed by party secretaries and seats allocated according to the island-wide proportional vote the party obtains.

Every proclamation dissolving parliament must be published in the The Sri Lanka Gazette and must specify the nomination period and the date of the election. The first meeting of the new parliament must occur within three months of the previous parliament's dissolution.^[27]

On 25 September 2024, the Election Commission released details regarding the number of members to be elected from each electoral district in the upcoming parliamentary election, the number of candidates to be listed on the nomination paper, and the deposit amount required from independent groups. Recognised political parties are exempt from making a deposit.^[1][28][29]

Registered electors and seat allocation changes: 2020 to 2024^[1][9][14]

Provinces	Districts	Registered electors		Number of allocated seats
		2020	2024	2020	2024	Change (+/-)
Western	Colombo	1,709,209	1,765,351	19	18	1
	Gampaha	1,785,964	1,881,129	18	19	1
	Kalutara	972,319	1,024,244	10	11	1
Central	Kandy	1,129,100	1,191,399	12	12
	Matale	407,569	429,991	5	5
	Nuwara Eliya	577,717	605,292	8	8
Southern	Galle	867,709	903,163	9	9
	Matara	659,587	686,175	7	7
	Hambantota	493,192	520,940	7	7
Northern	Jaffna	571,848	593,187	7	6	1
	Vanni	287,024	306,081	6	6
Eastern	Batticaloa	409,808	449,686	5	5
	Ampara	513,979	555,432	7	7
	Trincomalee	288,868	315,925	4	4
North Western	Kurunegala	1,348,787	1,417,226	15	15
	Puttalam	614,374	663,673	8	8
North Central	Anuradhapura	693,634	741,862	9	9
	Polonnaruwa	331,109	351,302	5	5
Uva	Badulla	668,166	705,772	9	9
	Monaragala	372,155	399,166	6	6
Sabaragamuwa	Ratnapura	877,582	923,736	11	11
	Kegalle	684,189	709,622	9	9
National List	—	—	—	29	29
Total	—	16,263,885	17,140,354	225	225

Sri Lankan political map prior to this election
2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election	2024 Sri Lankan presidential election
Elected members of each electoral district or municipality, gaining the highest number of votes ■ SLPFA ■ SJB ■ TNA ■ SLFP ■ EPDP ■ Other parties

Abbr.		Name	Symbol	Ideology	Leader	Seats won in 2020		Seats before election	Status
						Votes (%)	Seats
	SLPP	Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණ இலங்கை பொதுஜன முன்னணி		Sinhalese nationalism Right-wing populism	Mahinda Rajapaksa	59.09%	145 / 225 [b]	106 / 225	Government
	SJB	Samagi Jana Balawegaya සමගි ජනබලවේගය ஐக்கிய மக்கள் சக்தி		Big tent Liberal conservatism Progressivism	Sajith Premadasa	23.90%	54 / 225	72 / 225	Opposition
	ITAK	Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi இலங்கைத் தமிழரசுக் கட்சி ඉලංගෙයි තමිළ් අරසු කච්චි		Tamil nationalism	S. Shritharan	2.82%	10 / 225 [g]	6 / 225	Opposition
	DTNA	Democratic Tamil National Alliance ஜனநாயக தமிழ் தேசிய கூட்டணி දෙමළ ජාතික සන්ධානය		Tamil nationalism		—	—	4 / 225	Opposition
	NPP	National People's Power ජාතික ජන බලවේගය தேசிய மக்கள் சக்தி		Democratic socialism Anti-imperialism Left-wing populism	Anura Kumara Dissanayake	3.84%	3 / 225	3 / 225	Opposition
	TNPF	Tamil National People's Front தமிழ் தேசியத்திற்கான மக்கள் முன்னணி ද්‍රවිඩ ජාතික ජනතා පෙරමුණ		Tamil nationalism	Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam	0.58%	2 / 225	2 / 225	Opposition
	EPDP	Eelam People's Democratic Party ஈழ மக்கள் ஜனநாயகக் கட்சி ඊළාම් ජනතා ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී පක්ෂය			Douglas Devananda	0.53%	2 / 225	2 / 225	Opposition
	NDF	New Democratic Front නව ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී පෙරමුණ புதிய சனநாயக முன்னணி		Big tent Economic liberalism	Ranil Wickremesinghe	—	—	—	New
	SB	Sarvajana Balaya සර්වජන බලය சர்வஜன அதிகாரம்		Sinhalese nationalism	Dilith Jayaweera	—	—	—	New
	UDV	United Democratic Voice එක්සත් ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී හඩ ஐக்கிய ஜனநாயகக் குரல்			Ranjan Ramanayake	—	—	—	New
	DP	Devana Parapura දෙවන පරපුර தேவன பரபுர		Communism Marxism–Leninism Socialism	Uvindu Wijeweera	—	—	—	New

In a media release on 12 October 2024, the Election Commission announced that a total of 8,821 candidates would contest the parliamentary election. Of these, 5,564 candidates represent registered political parties, while 3,257 are contesting as independents.^[30][31]

Under the Anti-Corruption Act, No. 9 of 2023, all election candidates are required to submit a Declaration of Assets and Liabilities to the Commissioner of Elections along with their nomination papers, covering assets and liabilities up to the date the election is announced. Candidates seeking national list nominations must also submit their declarations.^[49][50]

On 17 October 2024, the Election Commission issued a circular setting the maximum campaign spending limit for candidates in the 2024 General Election. This cap applies to candidates, political parties, independent groups, and national list candidates, and is determined by district.^[51][52]

These regulations are enforced under the Regulation of Election Expenditure Act, No. 3 of 2023. Parties must submit expenditure reports to the Election Commission within 21 days of the election results being declared.^[53]

Election campaigning activities concluded at 24:00 SLST on 11 November 2024. A silent period will be enforced until election day on 14 November 2024, during which all campaign activities are prohibited.^[22][23]

On 12 November 2024, the Election Commission announced that foreign election observers would participate in monitoring the upcoming election. These include representatives from South Asian countries, Russia, Thailand, and members of the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL).^[54][55]

YouTuber Ashen Senarathna announced his candidacy for the Sri Lankan Parliament, seeking to represent the Colombo electoral district as part of an independent group. On 11 October 2024, the Election Commission rejected his nomination, citing that it was submitted by an unauthorised individual, which led to disqualification. Senarathna plans to take legal action, claiming he was asked to wait outside while another candidate submitted the nomination.^[56]

Actress Damitha Abeyratne was expected to contest the general elections from the Ratnapura electoral district under the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) ticket. However, her name did not appear on the list of candidates submitted by the SJB to the District Secretariat. Hesha Vithanage, the SJB leader for Ratnapura, stated that the decision to exclude her name was made by district members.^[57]

On 12 October 2024, former MP Ajith Mannapperuma withdrew from the parliamentary elections and resigned from Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), a day after submitting his nomination for the Gampaha electoral district. He cited his removal as SJB chief organiser for the Gampaha electorate. He also expressed disappointment with party leader Sajith Premadasa and his leadership.^[58][59]

The following nationwide presidential poll was conducted by the Institute for Health Policy (IHP), an independent research institution.

The Election Commission initially accepted postal voting applications from 1–8 October 2024, later extending the deadline to 24:00 SLST on 10 October 2024. The postal voting facility is exclusively available to pre-approved officials involved in election duties.^[18][19]

Approved individuals began casting votes on 30 October 2024. The postal voting process adhered to the Election Commission's schedule, with voting continuing on 1, 4, and 7 November, and concluding on 8 November 2024.^[20][21]

Voting commenced on 14 November 2024 at 13,314 polling stations island-wide. Voters are eligible to cast their ballots between 07:00 and 16:00 SLST.^[24][25]

• Party-list proportional representation
• 2024 in politics

• Election Commission of Sri Lanka official website
• Commission to Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption official website