By Rathindra Kuruwita 

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s National People’s Power (NPP) has achieved a historic victory in the November 14 general election, securing a two-thirds majority in Parliament with 6,863,186 votes and 159 seats. This is the first time that a political party has obtained two thirds of a vote under the proportional representation electoral system.

The NPP won 21 out of 22 electoral districts winning: Digamadulla, Gampaha, Colombo, Kandy, Puttalam, Jaffna, Ratnapura, Kurunegala, Kegalle, Anuradhapura, Vanni, Kalutara, Nuwara Eliya, Matale, Trincomalee, Badulla, Moneragala, Polonnaruwa, Hambantota, Galle, and Matara electoral districts.

The Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) won Batticaloa district.

This is the largest number of seats ever obtained by a single party since the parliamentary seat count was increased to 225. This is also the highest percent of valid votes obtained by a political party in a parliamentary election in the country (61.56 percent). Previously this record was held by United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in 2010 (60.33 percent).

The NPP also secured the highest number of electorates a party had won in a general election (152), breaking a record by UPFA in 2010 (136). Also, NPP won the highest number of electoral districts won by a party (21), breaking a record by UPFA in 2010 (19).

It also secured the highest number of votes by a party, breaking Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna’s (SLPP) 6,853,960 in 2020.

The election results also marked a setback for opposition political parties. Sajith Premadasa’s Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) won 40 seats with 1,968,716 votes, down sharply from the 4.3 million votes it garnered in September’s presidential election.

The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) was reduced to just three seats and 350,429 votes—a stunning fall from its 59 percent landslide victory in 2020. Ranil Wickremesinghe’s New Democratic Front (NDF) managed only five seats with 500,835 votes, a significant decline from his 2.2 million votes in the presidential election. Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (ITAK) won seven seats with 257,813 votes.

“One of the most remarkable aspects of this was NPP winning most of the North and East. This was a shock to many. This marks a new chapter in our political history,” Manjula Gajanayake, Executive Director, Institute of Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies (IRES) told The Island.

A large number of prominent MPs failed to secure entry into parliament. These include Manusha Nanayakkara, Harin Fernando, Kanchana Wijesekera, Johnston Fernando, Ramesh Pathirana, and Mahinda Amaraweera. SamagiJana Balawegaya (SJB) stalwarts Eran Wickramaratne, and Hirunika Premachandra too failed to enter parliament. Former MP Ranjan Ramanayake too failed to win, while Dilith Jayaweera’s Sarvajana Balaya secured one national list seat but won nowhere.

Colombo District preferential votes results were as follows: (NPP) Harini Amarasuriya – 655,289, Chathuranga Abeysinghe – 127,166, Sunil Watagala – 125,700, Lakshman Nipuna Arachchi – 96,273, Aruna Panagoda – 91,081, Eranga Gunasekara – 85,180, Harshana Nanayakkara – 82,275, Kaushalya Ariyarathne – 80,814, Asitha Niroshana – 78,990, Rizvie Salih – 73,018, Susantha Dodawatta – 65,391, Chandana Sooriyaarachchi – 63,387, Samanmalee Gunasinghe – 59,657 and Dewananda Suraweera – 54,680.

(SJB)

Sajith Premadasa – 145,611, Harsha De Silva – 81,473, Mujibur Rahuman – 43,737 and S.M. Marikkar – 41,482.