Next Sri Lankan local elections

Next Sri Lankan local elections

← 2018 TBD
8,711 members[a] to 340 local authorities (24 Municipal Councils, 41 Urban Councils and 275 Divisional Councils)

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Local elections have not been held in Sri Lanka since 2018. Elections were originally scheduled to be held in 2022, but were postponed to 2023 due to the worsening economic crisis and instability in the country, before being postponed again several times by the government of President Ranil Wickremesinghe.^[1][2][3][4] Currently, there is no official date scheduled for the elections.

More than 16.6 million Sri Lankans are eligible to elect 8,711 members^[a] to 340 local authorities comprising 24 Municipal Councils, 41 Urban Councils and 275 Pradeshiya Sabha councils.^[5]

Sri Lanka's last local government elections in 2018 resulted in the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) securing a majority with 40% of the vote.^[6][7][8]

Gotabaya Rajapaksa, contesting under the SLPP, subsequently won the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, while Mahinda Rajapaksa led the SLPP to victory in the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election.^[9][10]

During their tenure, the SLPP government, faced numerous challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and a severe economic crisis. These issues culminated in widespread protests and the 2022 Sri Lankan political crisis.^[11]

As a result, Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country and resigned as president, while Mahinda Rajapaksa also stepped down as prime minister.^[12][13] Ranil Wickremesinghe was first appointed prime minister and later became acting president following Gotabaya Rajapaksa's resignation. On 20 July 2022, Wickremesinghe was elected by parliament as the 9th President of Sri Lanka, tasked with completing the remainder of Rajapaksa's term.^[14]

In the 2024 Sri Lankan presidential election held on 21 September 2024, Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the National People's Power (NPP) defeated Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe to become the 10th President of Sri Lanka. In the subsequent 2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, the NPP emerged as the largest party, winning a supermajority with 159 elected members and 61.56% of the votes. The NPP subsequently formed the government of Sri Lanka.^[15][16]

The 2022 local government elections were postponed indefinitely by President Rajapaksa due to the economic crisis. Despite speculation of further delays, the Election Commission set the date for 9 March 2023. The SLPP, despite opposition claims, was the first to submit election deposits.^[1][17]

On 14 February 2023, postal voting was postponed after the government printer refused to supply ballots without payment, sparking accusations of further delays.^[18] By late February, doubts about the election’s feasibility grew due to funding disputes. President Wickremesinghe stated elections should not be held during the crisis, citing financial constraints. On 24 February, the Election Commission officially postponed the elections, initially rescheduled for 25 April.^{[19][2][3][4]}

Opposition parties, including the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, criticised Wickremesinghe’s stance, with Sajith Premadasa pointing out that the UNP had submitted nominations despite no official election schedule.^[20]

On 22 August 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that the delay violated voters' rights and ordered the Election Commission to hold the elections immediately.^[21]

On 3 December 2024, the cabinet spokesman announced that the cabinet of ministers had approved drafting the Local Government Elections (Special Provisions) Bill to cancel the nominations received in 2023 for the scheduled local elections which were postponed and to call for new nominations.^[22]

Recent Sri Lankan election results
2024 presidential election	2024 parliamentary election

Local authority elections are conducted using a mixed proportional system, as outlined in the Local Authorities Election (Amendment) Acts, No. 22 of 2012, No. 1 of 2016 and No. 16 of 2017. Members are elected through two methods: 60% from wards (both single-member and multi-member) and 40% from proportional representation lists.^[23]

The Delimitation Commission has defined the number of wards for all local authorities, with the details published in The Sri Lanka Gazette (No. 1928/26 of 21 August 2015 and No. 2006/44 of 17 February 2017).^[23]

Political parties and independent groups must submit two nomination lists, ensuring the total number of candidates equals the required membership of the local authority. Additionally, the proportional list must include three extra candidates.^[23]

To ensure women's representation, 10% of the total number of members elected must be women, distributed across both the ward-based and proportional systems. Youth representation was initially set at 25% and later increased to 30%, although it has not been made compulsory.^[23]