2004 Sri Lankan provincial council elections

The 2004 Sri Lankan provincial council election was held on 24 April 2004 and 10 July 2004 to elect members to seven provincial councils in Sri Lanka. No election was held in the eighth province, North Eastern, which had been governed directly by the national government since March 1990. The United People's Freedom Alliance, which was in power nationally, won all seven provinces.

4th Sri Lankan provincial council election

← 1999 24 April 2004 & 10 July 2004 2008/09 →

380 seats across 7 provincial councils
Turnout55.86%
  First party Second party
 
Leader Chandrika Kumaratunga Ranil Wickremasinghe
Party UPFA UNP
Popular vote 3,364,239 2,197,892
Percentage 57.68% 37.68%
Councillors 227 140
Councils 7 0

Winners of polling divisions. UPFA in blue and UNP in green.

Background

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In an attempt to end the Sri Lankan Civil War the Indo-Lanka Accord was signed on 29 July 1987. One of the requirements of the accord was that the Sri Lankan government to devolve powers to the provinces.[1] Accordingly on 14 November 1987 the Sri Lankan Parliament passed the 13th Amendment to the 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka and the Provincial Councils Act No 42 of 1987.[2][3] On 3 February 1988 nine provincial councils were created by order.[4] The first elections for provincial councils took place on 28 April 1988 in North Central, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, and Uva provinces.[5] On 2 June 1988 elections were held for provincial councils for Central, Southern and Western provinces. The United National Party (UNP), which was in power nationally, won control of all seven provincial councils.[citation needed]

The Indo-Lanka Accord also required the merger of the Eastern and Northern provinces into one administrative unit. The accord required a referendum to be held by 31 December 1988 in the Eastern Province to decide whether the merger should be permanent. Crucially, the accord allowed the Sri Lankan president to postpone the referendum at his discretion.[1] On September 2 and 8 1988 President Jayewardene issued proclamations enabling the Eastern and Northern provinces to be one administrative unit administered by one elected council, creating the North Eastern Province.[4] Elections in the newly merged North Eastern Province were held on 19 November 1988. The Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front, an Indian backed paramilitary group, won control of the North Eastern provincial council.[citation needed]

On 1 March 1990, just as the Indian Peace Keeping Force were preparing to withdraw from Sri Lanka, Annamalai Varatharajah Perumal, Chief Minister of the North Eastern Province, moved a motion in the North Eastern Provincial Council declaring an independent Eelam.[6] President Premadasa reacted to Permual's UDI by dissolving the provincial council and imposing direct rule on the province.[citation needed]

The 2nd Sri Lankan provincial council election was held in 1993 in seven provinces. The UNP retained control of six provincial councils but lost control of the largest provincial council, Western, to the opposition People's Alliance. A special election was held in Southern Province in 1994 after some UNP provincial councillors defected to the opposition. The PA won the election and took control of the Southern Provincial Council.[citation needed]

The 3rd Sri Lankan provincial council election was held in 1999 in seven provinces. The PA, which was now in power nationally, managed to win the majority of seats in two provinces (North Central and North Western). It was also able to form a majority administration in the other five provinces with the support of smaller parties such as the Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) . The UNP regained control of the Central Provincial Council in 2002 after the CWC councillors crossed over to the opposition.[7]

Results

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The United People's Freedom Alliance, the successor to the PA, won all seven provinces.

Overall

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Party / Alliance Votes % Seats
United People's Freedom Alliance 3,364,239 57.68% 227
United National Party1 2 2,197,892 37.68% 140
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress1 119,796 2.05% 7
Up-Country People's Front 52,639 0.90% 3
United Socialist Party 21,372 0.37% 0
Western People's Front 15,871 0.27% 1
Independents 11,976 0.21% 0
Ceylon Workers' Congress2 10,720 0.18% 1
National Development Front 10,493 0.18% 0
Sinhalaye Mahasammatha Bhoomiputra Pakshaya 6,981 0.12% 0
Democratic Unity Alliance 6,219 0.11% 1
United Lalith Front 3,765 0.06% 0
New Left Front 3,589 0.06% 0
Liberal Party 1,450 0.02% 0
United Sinhala Great Council 1,304 0.02% 0
United Muslim People's Alliance 1,139 0.02% 0
Sri Lanka Muslim Party 752 0.01% 0
Sri Lanka Progressive Front 730 0.01% 0
People's Liberation Solidarity Front 617 0.01% 0
Ruhuna People's Party 311 0.01% 0
National Democratic Party 287 0.00% 0
Sri Lanka National Front 224 0.00% 0
Democratic United National Front 218 0.00% 0
National People's Party 124 0.00% 0
Valid Votes 5,832,708 100.00% 380
Rejected Votes 380,055
Total Polled 6,212,763
Registered Electors 11,121,889
Turnout 55.86%
1. SLMC contested separately in North Central, North Western, Sabaragamuwa, and Western provinces, and with the UNP in Central and Uva provinces.
2. CWC contested separately in Sabaragamuwa province and with the UNP in all other provinces.

Central Province

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Results of the 4th Central provincial council election held on 10 July 2004:

Party / Alliance Kandy Matale Nuwara Eliya Bonus
Seats
Total
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
United People's Freedom Alliance 244,595 54.17% 16 92,510 56.12% 6 89,192 32.75% 6 2 426,297 47.97% 30
United National Party 202,264 44.80% 14 69,309 42.04% 4 138,572 50.88% 8 410,145 46.15% 26
Up-Country People's Front 1,135 0.69% 0 36,939 13.56% 2 38,074 4.28% 2
United Socialist Party 1,088 0.24% 0 1,152 0.70% 0 3,896 1.43% 0 6,136 0.69% 0
Independents 390 0.09% 0 120 0.07% 0 2,131 0.78% 0 2,641 0.30% 0
National Development Front 1,360 0.30% 0 399 0.24% 0 521 0.19% 0 2,280 0.26% 0
United Muslim People's Alliance 987 0.22% 0 987 0.11% 0
Liberal Party 860 0.32% 0 860 0.10% 0
Sinhalaye Mahasammatha Bhoomiputra Pakshaya 419 0.09% 0 117 0.07% 0 76 0.03% 0 612 0.07% 0
National Democratic Party 178 0.04% 0 109 0.04% 0 287 0.03% 0
Ruhuna People's Party 161 0.04% 0 31 0.01% 0 192 0.02% 0
Sri Lanka Progressive Front 76 0.02% 0 76 0.01% 0
National People's Party 62 0.04% 0 62 0.01% 0
Sri Lanka Muslim Party 53 0.03% 0 53 0.01% 0
Valid Votes 451,518 100.00% 30 164,857 100.00% 10 272,327 100.00% 16 2 888,702 100.00% 58
Rejected Votes 31,502 12,469 23,375 67,346
Total Polled 483,020 177,326 295,702 956,048
Registered Electors 880,635 312,556 436,248 1,629,439
Turnout 54.85% 56.73% 67.78% 58.67%

North Central Province

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Results of the 4th North Central provincial council election held on 10 July 2004:

Party / Alliance Anuradhapura Polonnaruwa Bonus
Seats
Total
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
United People's Freedom Alliance 187,977 63.92% 14 91,067 62.19% 6 2 279,044 63.34% 22
United National Party 89,166 30.32% 6 54,534 37.24% 4 143,700 32.62% 10
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress 14,391 4.89% 1 14,391 3.27% 1
United Socialist Party 1,217 0.41% 0 620 0.42% 0 1,837 0.42% 0
National Development Front 845 0.29% 0 845 0.19% 0
Independents 222 0.08% 0 130 0.09% 0 352 0.08% 0
Sinhalaye Mahasammatha Bhoomiputra Pakshaya 74 0.03% 0 54 0.04% 0 128 0.03% 0
Sri Lanka Progressive Front 126 0.04% 0 126 0.03% 0
United Sinhala Great Council 73 0.02% 0 28 0.02% 0 101 0.02% 0
Valid Votes 294,091 100.00% 21 146,433 100.00% 10 2 440,524 100.00% 33
Rejected Votes 21,600 9,831 31,431
Total Polled 315,691 156,264 471,955
Registered Electors 514,149 254,061 768,210
Turnout 61.40% 61.51% 61.44%

North Western Province

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Results of the 4th North Western provincial council election held on 24 April 2004:

Party / Alliance Kurunegala Puttalam Bonus
Seats
Total
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
United People's Freedom Alliance 362,084 59.85% 20 128,916 57.10% 9 2 491,000 59.10% 31
United National Party 215,905 35.69% 12 95,868 42.46% 7 311,773 37.53% 19
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress 24,173 4.00% 2 24,173 2.91% 2
National Development Front 623 0.10% 0 450 0.20% 0 1,073 0.13% 0
United Lalith Front 883 0.15% 0 883 0.11% 0
New Left Front 476 0.08% 0 89 0.04% 0 565 0.07% 0
Independents 178 0.03% 0 195 0.09% 0 373 0.04% 0
Sinhalaye Mahasammatha Bhoomiputra Pakshaya 295 0.05% 0 48 0.02% 0 343 0.04% 0
Sri Lanka Progressive Front 145 0.02% 0 15 0.01% 0 160 0.02% 0
United Muslim People's Alliance 152 0.07% 0 152 0.02% 0
Sri Lanka Muslim Party 83 0.01% 0 15 0.01% 0 98 0.01% 0
United Sinhala Great Council 91 0.02% 0 91 0.01% 0
Sri Lanka National Front 43 0.01% 0 43 0.01% 0
Ruhuna People's Party 17 0.01% 0 17 0.00% 0
Valid Votes 604,979 100.00% 34 225,765 100.00% 16 2 830,744 100.00% 52
Rejected Votes 28,019 9,600 37,619
Total Polled 632,998 235,365 868,363
Registered Electors 1,089,482 450,057 1,539,539
Turnout 58.10% 52.30% 56.40%

Sabaragamuwa Province

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Results of the 4th Sabaragamuwa provincial council election held on 10 July 2004:

Party / Alliance Kegalle Ratnapura Bonus
Seats
Total
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
United People's Freedom Alliance 185,112 58.90% 11 213,619 61.07% 15 2 398,731 60.04% 28
United National Party 115,551 36.77% 7 119,681 34.22% 8 235,232 35.42% 15
Ceylon Workers Congress 4,295 1.37% 0 6,425 1.84% 1 10,720 1.61% 1
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress 6,770 2.15% 0 3,731 1.07% 0 10,501 1.58% 0
United Socialist Party 798 0.25% 0 1,261 0.36% 0 2,059 0.31% 0
Up-Country People's Front 1,806 0.52% 0 1,806 0.27% 0
United Lalith Front 584 0.19% 0 707 0.20% 0 1,291 0.19% 0
National Development Front 423 0.13% 0 512 0.15% 0 935 0.14% 0
Western People's Front 854 0.24% 0 854 0.13% 0
Independents 339 0.11% 0 500 0.14% 0 839 0.13% 0
Liberal Party 262 0.07% 0 262 0.04% 0
United Sinhala Great Council 84 0.03% 0 96 0.03% 0 180 0.03% 0
Democratic United National Front 80 0.03% 0 83 0.02% 0 163 0.02% 0
Sinhalaye Mahasammatha Bhoomiputra Pakshaya 158 0.05% 0 158 0.02% 0
Sri Lanka Muslim Party 133 0.04% 0 133 0.02% 0
Sri Lanka Progressive Front 63 0.02% 0 52 0.01% 0 115 0.02% 0
National People's Party 62 0.02% 0 62 0.01% 0
Ruhuna People's Party 39 0.01% 0 39 0.01% 0
Valid Votes 314,296 100.00% 18 349,784 100.00% 24 2 664,080 100.00% 44
Rejected Votes 19,779 22,652 42,431
Total Polled 334,075 372,436 706,511
Registered Electors 570,299 647,035 1,217,334
Turnout 58.58% 57.56% 58.04%

Southern Province

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Results of the 5th Southern provincial council election held on 10 July 2004:

Party / Alliance Galle Hambantota Matara Bonus
Seats
Total
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
United People's Freedom Alliance 238,285 62.50% 14 141,283 70.12% 8 182,076 64.30% 12 2 561,644 64.86% 36
United National Party 139,168 36.51% 9 58,327 28.95% 4 94,448 33.35% 6 291,943 33.72% 19
Independents 361 0.09% 0 409 0.20% 0 4,615 1.63% 0 5,385 0.62% 0
United Socialist Party 2,278 0.60% 0 1,004 0.50% 0 534 0.19% 0 3,816 0.44% 0
United Lalith Front 472 0.12% 0 348 0.12% 0 820 0.09% 0
Sinhalaye Mahasammatha Bhoomiputra Pakshaya 411 0.11% 0 78 0.04% 0 182 0.06% 0 671 0.08% 0
People's Liberation Solidarity Front 617 0.22% 0 617 0.07% 0
United Sinhala Great Council 159 0.04% 0 56 0.03% 0 172 0.06% 0 387 0.04% 0
National Development Front 267 0.13% 0 267 0.03% 0
Liberal Party 186 0.07% 0 186 0.02% 0
Ruhuna People's Party 94 0.02% 0 94 0.01% 0
Sri Lanka Progressive Front 43 0.02% 0 43 0.00% 0
Sri Lanka National Front 29 0.01% 0 29 0.00% 0
Valid Votes 381,228 100.00% 23 201,496 100.00% 12 283,178 100.00% 18 2 865,902 100.00% 55
Rejected Votes 23,633 13,725 16,992 54,350
Total Polled 404,861 215,221 300,170 920,252
Registered Electors 716,609 384,361 551,506 1,652,476
Turnout 56.50% 55.99% 54.43% 55.69%

Uva Province

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Results of the 4th Uva provincial council election held on 10 July 2004:

Party / Alliance Badulla Monaragala Bonus
Seats
Total
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
United People's Freedom Alliance 169,197 55.48% 12 97,878 66.24% 7 2 267,075 58.99% 21
United National Party 119,171 39.08% 8 48,930 33.12% 4 168,101 37.13% 12
Up-Country People's Front 12,759 4.18% 1 12,759 2.82% 1
United Socialist Party 2,364 0.78% 0 616 0.42% 0 2,980 0.66% 0
National Development Front 523 0.17% 0 523 0.12% 0
Sri Lanka Muslim Party 468 0.15% 0 468 0.10% 0
Independents 231 0.08% 0 117 0.08% 0 348 0.08% 0
Sinhalaye Mahasammatha Bhoomiputra Pakshaya 246 0.08% 0 65 0.04% 0 311 0.07% 0
Democratic United National Front 55 0.04% 0 55 0.01% 0
Sri Lanka National Front 39 0.03% 0 39 0.01% 0
United Sinhala Great Council 33 0.02% 0 33 0.01% 0
Sri Lanka Progressive Front 20 0.01% 0 20 0.00% 0
Valid Votes 304,959 100.00% 21 147,753 100.00% 11 2 452,712 100.00% 34
Rejected Votes 25,628 10,831 36,459
Total Polled 330,587 158,584 489,171
Registered Electors 511,115 262,742 773,857
Turnout 64.68% 60.36% 63.21%

Western Province

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Results of the 4th Western provincial council election held on 10 July 2004:

Party / Alliance Colombo Gampaha Kalutara Bonus
Seats
Total
Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats Votes % Seats
United People's Freedom Alliance 322,653 49.11% 21 392,881 61.35% 24 224,914 57.27% 12 2 940,448 55.65% 59
United National Party 276,759 42.12% 18 218,903 34.19% 14 141,336 35.99% 7 636,998 37.69% 39
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress 31,184 4.75% 2 16,621 2.60% 1 22,926 5.84% 1 70,731 4.19% 4
Western People's Front 12,219 1.86% 1 2,798 0.44% 0 15,017 0.89% 1
Democratic Unity Alliance 6,219 0.95% 1 6,219 0.37% 1
Sinhalaye Mahasammatha Bhoomiputra Pakshaya 2,194 0.33% 0 2,564 0.40% 0 4,758 0.28% 0
National Development Front 1,337 0.20% 0 2,361 0.37% 0 872 0.22% 0 4,570 0.27% 0
United Socialist Party 2,419 0.38% 0 2,125 0.54% 0 4,544 0.27% 0
New Left Front 3,024 0.46% 0 3,024 0.18% 0
Independents 251 0.04% 0 1,262 0.20% 0 525 0.13% 0 2,038 0.12% 0
United Lalith Front 771 0.12% 0 0 0.00% 0 771 0.05% 0
United Sinhala Great Council 276 0.04% 0 236 0.04% 0 512 0.03% 0
Sri Lanka Progressive Front 159 0.02% 0 159 0.01% 0
Liberal Party 142 0.02% 0 142 0.01% 0
Sri Lanka National Front 113 0.02% 0 113 0.01% 0
Valid Votes 657,000 100.00% 43 640,346 100.00% 39 392,698 100.00% 20 2 1,690,044 100.00% 104
Rejected Votes 45,004 38,790 26,625 110,419
Total Polled 702,004 679,136 419,323 1,800,463
Registered Electors 1,467,751 1,327,145 746,138 3,541,034
Turnout 47.83% 51.17% 56.20% 50.85%

References

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  • "Results of Provincial Council Elections 2004" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 January 2009.
  1. ^ a b "Indo Sri Lanka Agreement, 1987". TamilNation.
  2. ^ "Introduction". Official Website of the Government of Sri Lanka. Government of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 7 July 2009.
  3. ^ "Amendments to the 1978 Constitution". Official Website of the Government of Sri Lanka. Government of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 17 August 2009.
  4. ^ a b "North-East merger illegal: SC". LankaNewspapers.com. 17 October 2006.
  5. ^ "Ethnic Conflict of Sri Lanka: Time Line - From Independence to 1999". International Centre for Ethnic Studies9. Archived from the original on 12 December 2009.
  6. ^ Ferdinando, Shamindra (10 September 2000). "I'm no traitor, says Perumal". Sunday Island. Archived from the original on 1 May 2009.
  7. ^ Sri Nissanka, Jayantha (30 April 2002). "Central Provincial Council : UNF takes over". Daily News, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 14 October 2012. Retrieved 1 June 2010.