1977 Sri Lankan parliamentary election

none 1977 Sri Lankan parliamentary election Sri Lanka parliamentary 1970 Ceylonese parliamentary election 1970 1989 Sri Lankan parliamentary election 1989 8th Parliament of Sri Lanka All 168 seats in the National State Assembly 85 seats were needed for a majority 21 July 1977 File:Junius Richard Jayawardana (1906-1996).jpg J. R. Jayewardene 1973 United National Party Colombo West 37.91%, 17 seats 140 123 3,179,221 50.92% 13.01pp Tamil United Liberation Front TULF A. Amirthalingam 1977 Tamil United Liberation Front Kankesanthurai Did not exist 18 New party 421,488 6.75% New party File:Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranayaka (1916-2000) (Hon.Sirimavo Bandaranaike with Hon.Lalith Athulathmudali Crop).jpg Sirimavo Bandaranaike 1960 Sri Lanka Freedom Party Attanagalla 36.86%, 91 seats 8 83 1,855,331 29.72% 7.14pp Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election 1977.PNG 250px Winners of polling divisions. UNP in green, TULF in yellow and SLFP in blue. Prime Minister Prime Minister-designate Sirimavo Bandaranaike Junius Richard Jayewardene Sri Lanka Freedom Party United National Party Parliamentary elections were held in Sri Lanka on 21 July 1977. The result was a landslide victory for the United National Party, which won 140 of the 168 seats in the National State Assembly. Background Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike had become extraordinarily unpopular. Her economic policies had led to industrial growth and self-reliance, but were insufficient to overcome unemployment. Constitutionally, she had taken advantage of the 1972 constitution to delay the election until 1977, instead of 1975 as would have been the case under the old Soulbury constitution. The government's strong Sinhala nationalist stance had led to unrest in the Tamil north; in response, an island-wide state of emergency was imposed, causing hardship to many people. The UF coalition Bandaranaike had built for the 1970 elections had disintegrated. By contrast, the United National Party had made a surprising comeback since its 1970 humiliation. Under the leadership of J.R. Jayewardene it had assiduously built up its ground organization. The UNP promised to solve the ethnic problem with a devolution package. Economically, it proposed opening up the Sri Lankan economy again. Constitutionally, the UNP called for replacing the Westminster-based political system with one modelled along French lines. Most importantly, it promised a free extra ration of eight pounds of cereal (the so-called eta ata), on top of the existing ration of two kilograms of rice. More portentous was the status of the Tamil parties. The old federalist Tamil parties had merged to form the Tamil United Liberation Front, led by Appapillai Amirthalingam, which had gone beyond regional autonomy to openly call for independence of the Tamil-speaking regions of the country. Results The UNP won the largest landslide in Sri Lankan history, taking over half the vote and 140 of the 168 seats, five-sixths of the legislature. The size of the landslide was magnified by the first-past-the-post system. The SLFP was decimated, falling from 91 seats to only eight–easily the worst defeat that a Sri Lankan ruling party has ever suffered, and one of the worst ever suffered by a governing party in a Westminster system. For the first time, a Tamil party won the second-highest number of seats in Parliament and became the Official Opposition. Abeyratne Pilapitiya of the UNP was elected MP for Kalawana, but was subsequently unseated in an election petition. Sarath Muttetuwegama of the Communist Party was returned to Parliament in the ensuing by-election. The 1977 election was the only one held in Sri Lanka under the 1972 constitution.Parliamentary Election - 1977 elections.gov.lk 2 May 2019 https://elections.gov.lk/web/wp-content/uploads/election-results/parliamentary-elections/general-election-1977.pdf https://web.archive.org/web/20181204101956/https://elections.gov.lk/web/wp-content/uploads/election-results/parliamentary-elections/general-election-1977.pdf 4 December 2018 live 25 December 2024 A year later, the UNP-dominated legislature amended the constitution to replace the parliamentary system with a presidential system. Under the provisions of the new document, Prime Minister Jayewardene became president on 4 February 1978. File:Sri Lanka Parliament 1977.svg United National Party 3179221 140 Sri Lanka Freedom Party 1855331 8 Tamil United Liberation Front 421488 18 Lanka Sama Samaja Party 225317 0 Communist Party of Sri Lanka 123856 0 Ceylon Workers' Congress 62707 1 Mahajana Eksath Peramuna 22639 0 Independents 353014 1 6667589 Kusaka Research Institute Results by electorate February 2016 Western Province Colombo District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolColombo North M. Vincent Perera Elephant Colombo Central R.Premadasa Elephant Colombo Central M.Jabir A. Cader Eye Colombo Central M.Haleem Ishak Hand BorellaM.H.Mohomed Elephant Colombo EastA.Edmund Samarawickrema Elephant Colombo West J.R.Jayewardene Elephant Dehiwala S. de S. Jayasinghe Elephant Ratmalana Lalith AthulathmudaliElephant Kolonnawa Weerasinghe Mallimarachchi Elephant Kotte Anandatissa de Alwis Elephant Kaduwela M.D.H. Jayawardana Elephant Awissawella M.D.Premarathna ElephantHomagama Gamini Jayasuriya Elephant Maharagama Premaratne Gunasekera Elephant Kesbewa Dharmasena Attygalle Elephant Moratuwa Tyronne Fernando Elephant Gampaha District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolWattala D. Shelton Jayasinghe Elephant Negambo N. Denzil Fernando Elephant Katana Wijayapala MendisElephant Divulapitiya Ariyaratne Jayatillake Elephant Mirigama Mahendra WijeratneElephant Minuwangoda Bennet Gunasekera Elephant Attanagalla Sirimavo BandaranaikeHand Gampaha S. D. BandaranayakeHand Ja-ela Joseph Michael Perera Elephant Mahara Tudor Gunasekara Elephant Dompe Sarathchandra RajakarunaElephant Biyagama Ranil WickremasingheElephant Kelaniya Kaluwadewage Cyril Mathew Elephant Kalutara District ElectorateName of the Elected SymbolPanadura Neville FernandoElephant Bandaragama Senaraja Samaranayake Elephant Horana Indradasa Hettiarachchi Elephant Bulathsinhala O.S. Perera Elephant MathugamaReginold V. Wijegooneratne ElephantKalutara V.L.Wijemanne ElephantBeruwalaAbdul Bakeer MarkarElephant BeruwalaR. G. SamaranayakeHand Agalawatta Merill Kariyawasam Elephant Central Province Matale District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolDambulla K.W.R.M.Ekananayake Elephant Laggala J.G.Wijeratne Banda Elephant Matale Alick Aluvihare Elephant Rattota P.B.Kaviratne Elephant Kandy District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolGalagedara W.M.G.T. BandaElephant Harispattuwa Abdul Cader Shahul Hameed ElephantHarispattuwa R. Premachandra WijesiriUmbrella PathadumbaraT. B. WerapitiyaElephant Udadumbara R.B. AttanayakeElephant Teldeniya Gamini Rajapakse Elephant Kundasale D.M. Chandrapala Elephant Hewaheta Anura Daniel Elephant SenkadagalaShelton RanarajaElephant Mahanuwara E.L. Senanayake Elephant YatinuwaraSunil Subasiri Abeysundara Elephant Udunuwara D.B. WijetungaElephant Gampola W.P.B. Dissanayake Elephant Nuwaraeliya District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolNavalapitiya Chandradra Karunaratne Elephant Nuwaraeliya Maskeliya Gamini Dissanayake Elephant Nuwaraeliya Maskeliya Anura Bandaranaike Hand Nuwaraeliya Maskeliya S. Thondaman CockerelKothmale Ananda Dassanayake Hand Hanguranketha George Abeygoonasekera Elephant Walapane Renuka Herath (Mrs.) Elephant Southern Province Galle District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolBalapitiya Norman Waidyaratna Elephant Ambalangoda Raitor Thilakasekara Elephant Karandeniya Bandulahewa Senadheera Elephant Bentara-Elpitiya Rupasena Karunatilake Elephant Hiniduma M.S. Amarasiri Elephant Baddegama E.D. Wickrematilaka Elephant Rathgma Edwin Thilakaratne Elephant Galle Albert de Silva Elephant Akmeemana Sumanadasa AbeywickramaElephant Habaraduwa P. Sumathiratne Elephant Matara District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolDeniyayaKeerthisena AbeywickramaElephantHakmana Harshanath Wanigasekara Elephant Akuressa Dayananda Wickremasinghe Elephant Kamburupitiya D.E. Malawaraarachchi Elephant Devinuwara Ronnie de Mel Elephant Matara S.K. Piyadasa Elephant Weligama Montague Jayawickrema Elephant Hambantota District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolMulkirigala T.D.Fransisku Elephant Beliatta Ranjith Atapattu ElephantTangalle Jinadasa Weerasinghe Elephant Tissamaharama P.M.B. Cyril Elephant Northern Province Jaffna District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolKayts K.P. Ratnam Sun Vaddukkodai T. Thirunavukarasu Sun Kankesanthurai A. AmirthalingamSun Manipay V. DharmalingamSun Kopai S. KathiravelupillaiSun Udduppidi T. Rasalingam Sun Point-Pedro K. Thurairatnam Sun Chavakachcheri V.N. Navaratnam Sun Nallur M. Sivasithamparam Sun Jaffna V. Yogeswaran Sun Vanni District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolKilinochchi V. Anandasangary Sun Mannar P.S. Soosaithasan Sun Mulativu X.M.SellathambuSun Vavuniya T. Sivasithamparam Sun Eastern Province Trincomalee District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolSeruvila H.D.L. Leelaratne ElephantMutur M.E.H. Maharoof Elephant Trincomalee R. SampathanSun Batticalao District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolKalkudah K.W. Devanayagam Elephant Batticaloa C.Rajadurai & Farid MeeralebbaiSun/ElephantPaddiruppu P. Ganeshalingam Sun Ampara District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolAmpara P. DayaratnaElephant Sammanthurai M. A. Abdul Majeed Elephant KalmunaiAbdul Rasak Mansoor Elephant Potuvil M.A.M. Jalaldeen & C.Kanagaratnam Elephant/Sun North Western Province Puttalam District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolPuttalam M.H.M. Neina Marikkar Elephant Anamaduwa Saddhatissa Wadigamangawa HandChilaw Harindra Corea ElephantNattandiya Harold Herath Elephant Wennappuwa Festus Perera Elephant Kurunegala District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolGalgamuwa H.M.A. Lokubanda Elephant Nikaweratiya H.B. Wanninayake Elephant Yapahuwa H.B. Abeyratne Elephant Hiriyala S.B. Herath Elephant Wariyapola Amara Piyaseeli Ratnayake Elephant Panduwasnuwara Kalubanda Ratnayake Elephant Bingiriya J.L. Sirisena Elephant Katugampola Gamini Jayawickrama PereraElephant Kuliyapitiya Lionel Jayatillake Elephant Dambadeniya Ukkubanda Wijekoon Elephant Polgahawela J.A.D.S. R. Jayakody Elephant Kurunegala Dingiri Banda Welagedera Elephant Mawathagama G.M. Premachandra Elephant Dodangaslanda S.W. Alawatuwala Elephant North Central Province Anuradapura District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolMedawachchiya Maithripala SenanayakeHand Horoupothana E.L.B.Hurulle Elephant Anuradhapura East W.Y. Herath Elephant Anuradhapura West K.D.M.C. Bandara Elephant Kalawewa A.M.S. Adikari Elephant Mihintale Dayaratne Walagambahu Elephant Kekirawa G.D. Mahindsoma Elephant Polonnaruwa District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolMinneriya Merril de Silva Elephant MedirigiriyaA.D.B. Ekanayake Elephant Polonnaruwa H.G.P. Nelson Uva Province Badulla District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolMahiyangana C.P.J.Seneviratne Elephant Viyaluwa Weerawanni Samaraweera Elephant Passara W.M. Karunaratne Elephant Badulla D. Vincent Dias Elephant Hali-ela R.M. Abeykoon Elephant Uva-paranagama R.M. Karunaratne Elephant Welimada Percy Samaraweera Elephant Bandarawela R.M.Apphamy Elephant Haputale W.J.M.LokubandaraElephant Monaragala District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolBibile R.M.Dharmadasa Banda Elephant Moneragala R.M. Punchi Bandara Elephant Wellawaya J.M. Kumaradasa Elephant Sabaragamuwa Province Kegalle District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolDedigama Nissanka Parakrama WijayaratneElephant Galigamuwa Wimala Kannangara (Mrs.) Elephant Kegalle N.A. Seneviratne Elephant Rambukkana Asoka Karunaratne Elephant Mawanella C.R. Beligammana Elephant Aranayaka Wasantha Udayaratne Elephant Yatiyantota K. Vincent Perera Elephant Ruwanwella P.C. Imbulana Elephant Deraniyagala A.K.D. Wanigaratne Elephant Ratnapura District Electorate Name of the Elected SymbolEhaliyagoda Mervyn Kularatne ElephantRatnapura G.V. Punchinilame Elephant Pelmadulla Chandrasekera Gankanda Elephant Balangoda M.L.M.Aboosally Elephant Rakwana H. Kularatne Elephant Nivitigala Gamini Athukorale Elephant KalawanaAbeyratna Pilapitiya Elephant Kolonna Caluwadewage Nanda Mathew Elephant Violence Post-poll violence killed 34 people between 22 and 25 July 1977.https://uca.edu/politicalscience/home/research-projects/dadm-project/asiapacific-region/ceylonsri-lanka-1948-present/ Ceylon/Sri Lanka (1948-Present) University of Central Arkansas Department of Political Science University of Central Arkansas May 3, 2024 July 2026 InternetArchiveBot Notes References http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/General%20Election%201977.PDF Result of Parliamentary General Election 1977 Department of Elections, Sri Lanka dead https://web.archive.org/web/20110717002624/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/General%20Election%201977.PDF 2011-07-17 http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/election/general_election1977.jsp 1977 General Election Results LankaNewspapers.com 2010-03-15 2015-04-05 https://web.archive.org/web/20150405154410/http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/election/general_election1977.jsp dead http://www.jpp.co.jp/lanka/gov/govd/govde/gov38e.htm Table 38 Parliament Election (1977) 10 February 2009 Sri Lanka Statistics 3 October 2010 9 October 2011 https://web.archive.org/web/20111009145525/http://www.jpp.co.jp/lanka/gov/govd/govde/gov38e.htm dead http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DA26Df04.html https://web.archive.org/web/20020213090010/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DA26Df04.html unfit 13 February 2002 Chapter 24: Tamil militancy - a manifestation K. T. Rajasingham 26 January 2002 Sri Lanka: The Untold Story Asia Times http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DB02Df03.html https://web.archive.org/web/20020416074026/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DB02Df03.html unfit 16 April 2002 Chapter 25: War or peace? K. T. Rajasingham 2 February 2002 Sri Lanka: The Untold Story Asia Times Sri Lanka Category:Parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka Category:Election and referendum articles with incomplete results