1994 Sri Lankan presidential election

none Sri Lanka presidential 1993 Sri Lankan presidential election 1993 1999 Sri Lankan presidential election 1999 9 November 1994 70.47% ( 15.15pp) Chandrika Kumaratunga Sri Lanka Freedom Party People's Alliance (Sri Lanka) 4,709,205 62.28% Srima Dissanayake United National Party — no 2,715,283 35.91% Wahlbezirkskarte Präsidentschaft Sri_Lanka 1994.svg Results by polling division President Dingiri Banda Wijetunga Chandrika Kumaratunga United National Party Sri Lanka Freedom Party Presidential elections were held in Sri Lanka on 9 November 1994. They were the third presidential elections held in the country's history. Prime Minister Chandrika Kumaratunga of the governing People's Alliance was elected in a landslide victory, receiving 62% of the vote and becoming the first female President of Sri Lanka. The election marked the end of 17 years of United National Party rule in Sri Lanka. Background President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated on 1 May 1993 by the LTTE and was succeeded by prime minister Dingiri Banda Wijetunga. Under the Constitution, a president who assumed office to fill a vacancy could not call an early presidential election. Consequently, the next presidential election was scheduled between 2 November and 2 December 1994. In August 1994, Wijetunga dissolved Parliament and called for snap general elections. The People's Alliance, led by Chandrika Kumaratunga, won a parliamentary majority, and Kumaratunga was sworn in as Prime Minister on 19 August 1994.THIRD AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION https://lankalaw.net/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/1982Y0V0C0A3S.html 2025-11-09 lankalaw.nethttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9qGvZQV8kyM Sri Lanka - New Prime Minister Sworn In 2015-07-21 AP Archive 2025-11-09 YouTube Nominations for the presidential election were accepted on 7 October 1994, and the election date was officially announced via Gazette Extraordinary No. 839/9 on 26 October 1994.Wayback Machine https://elections.gov.lk/web/wp-content/uploads/election-results/presidential-elections/PresidentialElections1994.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20220927143202/https://elections.gov.lk/web/wp-content/uploads/election-results/presidential-elections/PresidentialElections1994.pdf 2022-09-27 2025-11-09 elections.gov.lk President Wijetunga chose not to contest the election, and the UNP instead opted to pick Opposition Leader Gamini Dissanayake as its candidate in the initial campaign. Hema Premadasa, the former First Lady, also attempted to contest the presidency, but withdrew after facing organized political harassment and negative propaganda by opposition parties.Women & the Nation's Narrative: Gender and Nationalism in the Twentieth Century Sri Lanka De Mel Neloufer Rowman & Littlefield Publishers 2002 9780742518070 246https://newspaperarchive.com/us/california/santa-ana/santa-ana-orange-county-register/1993/05-07/page-3?tag=hema+premadasa Premadasa's Widow Indicates She May Seek Political Office 7 May 1993 Santa Ana Orange County Register 7 February 2016 Newspaper Archivehttps://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1232598381.html https://web.archive.org/web/20160220221306/https://www.highbeam.com/doc/1P3-1232598381.html usurped 20 February 2016 Why Lankan Women Shun Politics 13 March 2007 Hindustan Times 7 February 2016 subscription New Delhi, India HighBeam Research The People's Alliance officially nominated Chandrika Kumaratunga as its presidential candidate. Campaign The campaign initially involved active competition between the UNP and the People's Alliance. Assassination Assassination of Gamini Dissanayake On 24 October 1994, Gamini Dissanayake was killed in a suicide bombing carried out by the LTTE, which also caused civilian casualties. Following this event, his widow Srima Dissanayake replaced him on the ballot as the UNP candidate, and security measures were heightened nationwide in response to the attack.Sri Lanka election aftermath UPI 24 October 1994 https://www.upi.com/Archives/1994/10/24/Bomb-blast-kills-scores-in-Sri-Lanka/6119782971200/Assassination of Gamini Dissanayake https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Assassination_of_Gamini_Dissanayake 2025-11-09August 2026 Results Kumaratunga won the election by a record margin with 62.28% of the vote. http://www.paffrel.lk/pdf/Election2005_PastResults.pdf Results of past presidential elections in Sri Lanka 2009-08-22 People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections https://web.archive.org/web/20120223061134/http://www.paffrel.lk/pdf/Election2005_PastResults.pdf 2012-02-23 dead She became the first female President of Sri Lanka and was inaugurated at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo on 12 November 1994.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3q-IXEiAQtc SRI LANKA - NEW PRESIDENT SWORN IN 2015-07-21 AP Archive 2025-11-09 YouTube Chandrika Kumaratunga People's Alliance 4709205 Srima Dissanayake United National Party 2715283 Hudson Samarasinghe Independent 58886 Harischandra Wijayatunga Sinhalaye Mahasammatha Bhoomiputra Pakshaya 32651 A. J. Ranasinghe Independent 22752 Nihal Galappaththi Sri Lanka Progressive Front 22749 151706 10945065 Election Commission Popular vote (%) 600px 410px Kumaratunga People's Alliance (Sri Lanka) 62.28 Dissanayake United National Party 35.91 Geographical Share (%) 600px 410px Kumaratunga People's Alliance (Sri Lanka) 99.38 Dissanayake United National Party 0.63 References http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/1994%20Presidential.pdf Result of Presidential Election 1994 Department of Elections, Sri Lanka dead https://web.archive.org/web/20090304101347/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/1994%20Presidential.pdf 2009-03-04 http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/election/presidential1994.jsp 1994 Sri Lanka Presidential Election Results 20 October 2022 LankaNewspapers.com 3 September 2010 14 February 2010 https://web.archive.org/web/20100214153357/http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/election/presidential1994.jsp dead http://www.manthree.com/elections/results/?id=6 https://web.archive.org/web/20100130181355/http://www.manthree.com/elections/results/?id=6 dead 2010-01-30 1994 - Presidential Election Manthree.com Sri Lanka Presidential Sri Lanka