1970 Ceylonese parliamentary election
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151 seats to the House of Representatives of Ceylon 76 seats were needed for a majority | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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50
49General elections were held in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1970.
Contents
1 Background
2 Results
3 Notes
4 References
Background
SLFP leader Sirimavo Bandaranaike had come to the conclusion that her party's best hope of power was forming a permanent alliance with Ceylon's Marxist parties. She assembled the SLFP, the Trotskyist LSSP, and the Communists into the United Front coalition. The UF's platform was called the Common Programme; it featured extensive nationalization, a more pro-Soviet foreign policy, expanded social programs, and abolition of the Soulbury constitution.
The UNP government of Dudley Senanayake had not made much headway with Ceylon's twin problems of inflation and unemployment. The UNP had become widely perceived as a party of the rich, out of touch with the concerns of ordinary people. The UF's socialist platform had much greater appeal.
Results
The UF (with 49% of the vote) won an overwhelming majority, despite the UNP's plurality of the popular vote, due to the member parties running in different constituencies. The Tamil majority constituencies voted mainly for the two Tamil parties, one of which (the All Ceylon Tamil Congress), later joined the UF.[citation needed]
The 1970 election was the last held under the Soulbury constitution. The UF Government established the free, sovereign and independent Republic of Sri Lanka in 1972, breaking the last ties of colonialism.
The British-owned plantations were nationalised and there was land reform - giving poor rural people land. Industrial democracy was instituted in the transport and manufacturing sectors. A National pharmaceuticals policy was established, allowing for affordable drugs. A new education policy was followed, aimed at making education more relevant.
Increased protection led to growth in the manufacturing sector, particularly in textiles and garments, electronics and industrial machinery.
| Party | Candidates | Votes | % | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sri Lanka Freedom Party | 108 | 1,839,979 | 36.86% | 91 | |
| Lanka Sama Samaja Party | 23 | 433,224 | 8.68% | 19 | |
| United National Party | 130 | 1,892,525 | 37.91% | 17 | |
| Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | 19 | 245,727 | 4.92% | 13 | |
| Communist Party of Ceylon | 9 | 169,199 | 3.39% | 6 | |
| All Ceylon Tamil Congress | 12 | 115,567 | 2.32% | 3 | |
| Mahajana Eksath Peramuna | 4 | 46,571 | 0.93% | 0 | |
| Others | 136 | 249,006 | 4.99% | 2 | |
| Valid Votes | 441 | 4,991,798 | 100.00% | 151 | |
| Rejected Votes | |||||
| Total Votes Polled | |||||
| Total Electors Polled[a] | |||||
| Registered Electors | 5,505,028 | ||||
| Turnout[b] | |||||
Notes
^ 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 R. M. Bandara (SLFP) being elected from Welimada Electoral District without a contest.
References
^ "Table 37 Parliament Election (1970)". Sri Lanka Statistics. 10 February 2009..mw-parser-output cite.citation{font-style:inherit}.mw-parser-output .citation q{quotes:"""""""'""'"}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-free a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/65/Lock-green.svg/9px-Lock-green.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-limited a,.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-registration a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/d6/Lock-gray-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-gray-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .citation .cs1-lock-subscription a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/aa/Lock-red-alt-2.svg/9px-Lock-red-alt-2.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration{color:#555}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription span,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration span{border-bottom:1px dotted;cursor:help}.mw-parser-output .cs1-ws-icon a{background:url("//upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/4/4c/Wikisource-logo.svg/12px-Wikisource-logo.svg.png")no-repeat;background-position:right .1em center}.mw-parser-output code.cs1-code{color:inherit;background:inherit;border:inherit;padding:inherit}.mw-parser-output .cs1-hidden-error{display:none;font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-visible-error{font-size:100%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-maint{display:none;color:#33aa33;margin-left:0.3em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-subscription,.mw-parser-output .cs1-registration,.mw-parser-output .cs1-format{font-size:95%}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-left,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-left{padding-left:0.2em}.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-right,.mw-parser-output .cs1-kern-wl-right{padding-right:0.2em}
"Result of Parliamentary General Election 1970" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
[permanent dead link]
"1970 General Election Results". LankaNewspapers.com. Archived from the original on 10 March 2012.
"Table 37 Parliament Election (1970)". Sri Lanka Statistics. 10 February 2009.
"Sri Lanka Parliamentary Chamber: Parliament Elections Held in 1970" (PDF). Inter-Parliamentary Union.
Rajasingham, K. T. (5 January 2002). "Chapter 21: A further lack of perspicuity". Sri Lanka: The Untold Story. Asia Times.
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[[Category:Parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka]
