EXPLAINED: Sri Lankan parliamentary electoral system

Of the 225 seats in the Sri Lankan Parliament, 196 MPs are elected from 22 multi-member electoral districts. The remaining 29 seats are allocated to contesting parties and independent groups in proportion to their share of the national vote. These 29 seats are referred to as the National List.

History

Sri Lanka is often referred to as Asia’s oldest democracy, particularly in terms of universal suffrage. In 1931, with the Donoughmore Constitution, every adult citizen in Sri Lanka was granted the right to vote. It was the only constitution in the British Empire (outside the "white" dominions of Australia, South Africa, and Canada) that allowed general elections with adult universal suffrage. For the first time, a "dependent" non-Caucasian country within the Western European empires was given one-person, one-vote and the power to control its domestic affairs.

Sri Lanka's journey toward democracy began in 1931 with the introduction of universal suffrage under the Donoughmore Constitution. Over the following decades, the country experienced significant political changes, culminating in the transformative 1977 election. By then, the SLFP government had become deeply unpopular, and the United National Party (UNP), led by J. R. Jayewardene, secured a historic landslide victory under the first-past-the-post system. The UNP won 140 out of 168 seats in Parliament, nearly five-sixths of the total, while the SLFP, with only 8 seats, became the third-largest party. Meanwhile, the Tamil United Liberation Front, with 18 seats, emerged as the Official Opposition. This election marked a major turning point for the country, laying the groundwork for significant constitutional and economic reforms.

After the election, J. R. Jayewardene became Prime Minister and swiftly amended the 1972 Constitution to create an Executive Presidency. The amendment automatically elevated him to the newly established post of President. On 31 August 1978, a new Constitution was passed, which was officially promulgated on 7 September 1978. This new Constitution provided for a unicameral parliament and enshrined the role of an Executive President. It also introduced proportional representation for parliamentary elections, which initially included 196 members. Later, the Fourteenth Amendment in 1988 increased the number of Members of Parliament to 225, including 29 National List members.

Allocation of Seats ( Selected vs Elected)

Under the current electoral system, 196 Members of Parliament are elected from 22 multi-member electoral districts using the Largest Remainder Method, also known as the Hare Quota. The remaining 29 seats, known as the National List, are allocated to contesting parties and independent groups based on their proportion of the national vote.

Elected MPs

Of the first 196 seats, 160 were distributed among the 22 electoral districts proportionally based on the number of registered voters in each district. The remaining 36 seats were equally divided among the 9 provinces, with each province receiving 4 additional seats, in addition to the seats allocated through proportional distribution.

According to Article 95 of the Constitution, the Delimitation Commission is the authorized body responsible for determining how many seats each district receives. In 1978, the Commission decided to allocate the seats as follows:

Central Province - Kandy 1; Matale 1; Nuwara Eliya 2.
Eastern Province - Ampara 2; Batticaloa 1; Trincomalee 1.
Northern Province - Jaffna 1, Vanni 3.
North Central Province - Anuradhapura 2, Polonnaruwa 2.
North Western Province - Kurunegala 2, Puttalam 2
Sabaragamuwa Province - Kegalla 2; Ratnapura 2.
Southern Province - Galle 1, Matara 1; Hambantota 2.
Uva Province - Badulla 2; Monaragala 2.
Western Province - Colombo 2; Gampaha 1; Kalutara 1.

This province-based allocation leads to a non-proportional distribution of seats among the voters. The value of a single vote in a less populated area is greater than the value of a vote in a densely populated area.

Here is the district-wise distribution of seats in Sri Lankan Parliament for General Election 2024,

| --- | -------------- | -------------------------- | ----------------------- | ---------- |

| 1 | Colombo | 19 | 18 | -1 |

| 2 | Gampaha | 18 | 19 | +1 |

| 3 | Kalutara | 10 | 11 | +1 |

| 4 | Kandy | 12 | 12 | 0 |

| 5 | Matale | 5 | 5 | 0 |

| 6 | Nuwara Eliya | 8 | 8 | 0 |

| 7 | Galle | 9 | 9 | 0 |

| 8 | Matara | 7 | 7 | 0 |

| 9 | Hambantota | 7 | 7 | 0 |

| 10 | Jaffna | 7 | 6 | -1 |

| 11 | Vanni | 6 | 6 | 0 |

| 12 | Batticaloa | 5 | 5 | 0 |

| 13 | Digamadulla | 7 | 7 | 0 |

| 14 | Trincomalee | 4 | 4 | 0 |

| 15 | Kurunegala | 15 | 15 | 0 |

| 16 | Puttalam | 8 | 8 | 0 |

| 17 | Anuradhapura | 9 | 9 | 0 |

| 18 | Polonnaruwa | 5 | 5 | 0 |

| 19 | Badulla | 9 | 9 | 0 |

| 20 | Moneragala | 6 | 6 | 0 |

| 21 | Ratnapura | 11 | 11 | 0 |

| 22 | Kegalle | 9 | 9 | 0 |

**This years allocation was done according to the reversed 2023 voter register. According to the new register, one MP has been reduced for the Colombo and Jaffna District, and added to Gampaha and Kaluthara District.

Who gets how many?

According to the constitution number of seats each party wins for an electoral district is decided by the Largest Reminder Method with a 5% minimum limit and a bonus seat.

5% minimum limit

No party or an independent group with less than 5% of the vote in an electoral district will be eligible for seats. The balance of valid votes are reckoned for allocation of seats on the basis of the proportional computation.

The Bonus Seat

In each district, the political party or independent group that secures the highest number of votes is awarded a bonus seat. Even if a party leads by just one vote, it still receives the bonus seat.

The remaining Members of Parliament are elected based on the proportion of votes obtained by each political party or independent group.

Preferential voting

The 14th Amendment to the Constitution introduced a system of preferential voting to determine which candidates from an open list are qualified to sit in Parliament. Each voter is entitled to indicate their preferences from within the list of candidates of the political party or group for which they cast their vote. Voters can select up to three preferences, based on the numbers assigned to each candidate.

Once the number of seats each party receives is finalized, the counting of preferential votes takes place during the second stage of the counting process. The candidates with the highest number of preferential votes within each political party are then declared elected to Parliament.

Selected MPs (The National List)

The National List comprises 29 members who enter Parliament without contesting in the election. The number of National List seats each party receives is based on their proportion of the national vote. If a party secures approximately 3.45% of the national vote (100/29), they are guaranteed a National List seat. However, parties with slightly less than 3.45% of the vote can still end up winning a seat. This happens because many small parties in Sri Lankan elections poll less than 1%, with only a few thousand votes. The collective vote share of these small parties amounts to a small percentage of the national vote, allowing a party polling close to 3.45% to win a seat with fewer votes.

Although the National List was originally intended to bring experts and professionals from various fields into Parliament, the lack of clear guidelines in the Constitution has left the final decision on National List appointments to the discretion of the general secretary of each political party. Former President Maithripala Sirisena exemplified this by using his role as the General Secretary of the SLFP to nominate seven defeated candidates to Parliament in the final National List.

Finally here is how main political parties in Sri Lanka positioned in the parliament after each election since 1994.