The society of Sri Lanka is entering another critical moment with the upcoming presidential election scheduled for September 21.
This year’s election presents a unique opportunity in the Sri Lankan political process.
The first presidential election for the office of Executive President was held in 1982, established under the Second Republic Constitution of 1977.
It is noteworthy that most presidential elections since then have taken place under critical conditions.
Freedom from British rule
In 1815, Sri Lanka came under British rule. The first constitutional reform to establish governance in Sri Lanka was implemented under the Colebrook Reform.
This system of governance remained in place for decades. As demands arose to increase the number of representatives in the Legislative Council and to provide the opportunity to elect several members with restricted voting rights, the system was revised.
This allowed for the election of four non-official members with limited voting power. Ponnambalam Ramanathan made history as the first Sri Lankan elected to the Constituent Assembly under such restricted voting conditions.
In the 1911 elections, he competed against Dr. Marcus Fernando and was elected to the Legislative Council.
Affirmation of voting rights
The right to vote in Sri Lanka was initially determined by factors such as gender, education, and income, but in 1931, amendments recognised the right to vote for all Sri Lankan citizens.
The Donamore Constitutional Reform granted Sri Lankans the right to vote for the first time. Subsequently, there were several by-elections and general elections, and by 1982, the situation had evolved further.
In 1977, in the parliamentary elections, JR Jayawardene’s United National Party government gained five-sixth power. They then adopted the Second Republic Constitution of 1978, creating executive presidential power according to the new constitution.
Election of the first Executive President
In September 1982, an election was held to appoint an executive president. A notable event was the abolition of the civil rights of Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, before the election.
This prevented her from running for the presidential election. Instead, Hector Kobbekaduwa ran for the S.L.N.P. as a candidate.
Six candidates competed in the presidential election, including left-wing and labour leaders. Notably, Rohana Wijeweera, the leader of the party that emerged after the 1971 Janata Vimukti Peramuna revolt, also contested the presidential election.
Though 8.1 million voters were registered, only 6.6 million voted. The influence of organizations in the north was reduced in the Jaffna district, yet JR received 52.91% of the votes, winning the election and becoming President for the second time.
The second presidential election with black spots
The presidential election held in December 1988 in Sri Lanka was marred by significant challenges to democracy.
Violent incidents, including attacks on locations where ballot papers were stored, explosions, shootings, and roadblocks near polling stations, characterised the election.
Militant groups in the north contributed to the atmosphere of unrest, and the Janata Vimukti Peramuna, despite being banned, called for a boycott of the election.
As a result of the violence, some polling stations were unable to open, and voter turnout was low in several districts, including Matale, Matara, Hambantota, Jaffna, Vanni, Polonnaruwa, and Monaragala, where less than 50% of registered voters cast their ballots.
The turnout was particularly low in the Wanni district at 13.79% and the Monaragala district at 17.01%.
Despite these challenges, R. Premadasa, the candidate from the United National Party, emerged as the winner, with Sirimavo Bandaranaike, the leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, also contesting the election but not succeeding.
Unexpected event
On May 1, 1993, President R. Premadasa was assassinated, and Prime Minister Dingiri Banda Wijetunga succeeded him as President.
This event caused shock in Sri Lankan politics, especially as the preparations for the 1994 presidential election were underway.
In the general election, Chandrika Kumaratunga and the United People’s Freedom Alliance emerged victorious.
The presidential nominations were submitted on October 7, 1994, with six candidates, including Chandrika Kumaratunga and Gamini Dissanayake from the United National Party.
The ensuing presidential election was notable for being contested by two women. A bomb attack at a political meeting in Colombo on October 24, 1994, resulted in the deaths of several United National Party members, including Gamini Dissanayake.
As a result, Srima Dissanayake, Gamini Dissanayake’s wife, was nominated as an alternative candidate.
This made the presidential election a unique contest between two women, both of whom entered politics following the assassinations of their political husbands.
The November 1994 presidential election saw a voter turnout of 70.47% of registered voters, with low voter turnout in the two electoral districts of the Northern Province due to the military situation at the time. Chandrika Kumaratunga won the election with 62.28% of the total votes cast.
A case of a bomb attack
In 1999, a presidential election took place while the civil war was ongoing in the North-East region of the country.
This election occurred five years into President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s tenure. Thirteen candidates participated in the election, campaigning under tight security measures due to the circumstances of the civil war.
Despite the security precautions, President Chandrika Kumaratunga was attacked with a suicide bomb after the final election rally of the United Front.
She survived the attack; however, she suffered damage to her eye. Nevertheless, Chandrika Kumaratunga won the election and resumed her position as president.
Mahinda wins by a thread
In 2005, as President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s six-year term came to an end, a presidential election was announced.
Prior to this, in 1999, the former president had called for a presidential election before her six-year term was over, leading to a controversial situation over whether her tenure would end in 2005 or 2006.
A panel of judges, including the Chief Justice, unanimously decided that her term would end in 2005.
Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa, who had become the prime minister in the 2004 general election, was nominated as the United People’s Freedom Alliance candidate for the presidential election, while Ranil Shrian Wickramasinghe, who was the opposition leader at the time, ran from the United National Party.
Notably, Sri Lanka was hit by the tsunami disaster in 2004 before this presidential election, during which 13 candidates appeared. Thousands died in the disaster, and displaced people were forced to stay in camps.
The election was characterised by a close race between the main candidates, and Mahinda Rajapaksa emerged as the winner with 50.29% of the total number of valid votes.
He received 180,786 more votes than the UNP candidate Ranil Wickremesinghe. Turnout in the north was notably very low during this presidential election.
The crucial election held in the heat of ending the war
In 2010, a year before the end of his first term, President Mahinda Rajapaksa announced a presidential election.
At this time, the LTTE had been militarily defeated. Sarath Fonseka, the former army commander who led the war, emerged as the primary competitor against former President Mahinda Rajapaksa in a presidential election with 22 candidates.
Fonseka ran from the New Democratic Front, an alliance of several parties including the United National Party.
During this time, people living in displacement camps due to the war were also given the opportunity to vote. Voter turnout in the North was high, and after a fierce competition, Mahinda Rajapaksa was elected to the presidency for the second time.
18th Constitutional Amendment and 2015 Presidential Election
In 1978, the Sri Lankan Constitution set the President’s term at six years. To extend his presidency, Mahinda Rajapaksa passed the 18th Amendment, which removed the limit on the number of presidential terms and increased the powers of the executive presidency.
This move was criticised for undermining democracy. In response, Maithripala Sirisena, then Secretary General of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, contested the 2015 presidential election as the opposition’s common candidate.
He won the election and later passed the 19th constitutional amendment, which limited the presidency to two terms and reduced the term of office to five years.
In the 2015 presidential election, there was significant voter turnout in the Northern Province, with 66.28% and 72.57% voter participation in the Jaffna and Wanni districts, respectively.
2019 and the struggle to oust Gotabhaya
In 2019, Maithripala Sirisena’s grip on power weakened, leading to a presidential election. After the Easter Sunday bombings, the focus of the election shifted to security.
A record 35 candidates participated, requiring the use of two-foot-long ballot papers and thick cardboard ballot boxes. Gotabhaya Rajapaksa won the election, and he emphasised his ties to the Sinhalese Buddhist people during his swearing-in near Ruwanwelisaya.
However, his presidency was tumultuous, and in the third year, he fled the country due to protests. After his resignation, Ranil Wickramasinghe became the successor president, making Gotabaya Rajapaksa the only Executive President in history to be ousted by the people.
2024?
As Gotabhaya Rajapaksa’s term is set to expire, a presidential election is scheduled to take place on September 21.
Currently, 39 candidates have qualified to run in the 2024 presidential election, making it the election with the largest number of candidates in history.
The growing number of candidates in the upcoming presidential elections is leading to increased election expenses, which has become a notable feature.
