Ceylonese parliamentary election, 1947
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General elections were held in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) from August 23 to September 20, 1947.
Background
This is considered the first national election held in Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon). Although it took place before independence was actually granted, it was the first election under the Soulbury Constitution.
Some of the major figures who had led the independence struggle were found in the rightwing United National Party led by D.S. Senanayake. In opposition were the Trotskyist Lanka Sama Samaja Party and Bolshevik Leninist Party of India, the Communist Party of Ceylon, the Ceylon Indian Congress and an array of independents.
Results
Senanayake's UNP fell short of a majority, but was able to form a government in coalition with the All Ceylon Tamil Congress, which had taken most of the seats in the Tamil regions.
Sri Lanka obtained full independence as a dominion in 1948. The British nevertheless retained military bases in the country and English remained as the official language along with much of the administrative system put in place by the British along with British officials.
Party | Candidates | Votes | % | Seats | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
United National Party | 98 | 751,432 | 39.81% | 42 | |
Lanka Sama Samaja Party | 28 | 204,020 | 10.81% | 10 | |
All Ceylon Tamil Congress | 9 | 82,499 | 4.37% | 7 | |
Ceylon Indian Congress | 7 | 72,230 | 3.83% | 6 | |
Bolshevik-Leninist Party / Bolshevik Samasamaja Party | 10 | 113,193 | 6.00% | 5 | |
Communist Party of Ceylon | 13 | 70,331 | 3.73% | 3 | |
Ceylon Labour Party | 9 | 38,932 | 2.06% | 1 | |
United Lanka Congress | 2 | 3,953 | 0.21% | 0 | |
Swaraj Party | 3 | 1,393 | 0.07% | 0 | |
Independents | 181 | 549,381 | 29.11% | 21 | |
Valid Votes | 360 | 1,887,364 | 100.00% | 95 | |
Rejected Votes | |||||
Total Votes Polled | |||||
Total Electors Polled[lower-alpha 2] | 1,710,150 | ||||
Registered Electors | 3,048,145 | ||||
Turnout[lower-alpha 3] | 56.10% |
Notes
- ↑ Some variation exists over the exact results.
- ↑ Total electors polled is less than total votes polled due to multiple-member seats where electors can cast more than one vote.
- ↑ Actual turnout was slightly higher due to H. S. Ismail (UNP) being elected from Puttalam Electoral District without a contest.
References
- ↑ "Table 31 Parliament Election (1947)". Sri Lanka Statistics. 10 February 2009.
- "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1947" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2016-02-04.
- "1947 General Election Results". LankaNewspapers.com.
- "Table 31 Parliament Election (1947)". Sri Lanka Statistics. 10 February 2009.
- Rajasingham, K. T. (20 October 2001). "Chapter 11: On the threshold of freedom". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Asia Times.
- Rajasingham, K. T. (27 October 2001). "Chapter 12: Tryst with independence". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Asia Times.