# Kopay Electoral District

Kopay Electoral District was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between August 1947 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Kopay in Jaffna District, Northern Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the proportional representation electoral system for electing members of Parliament. The existing 160 mainly single-member electoral districts were replaced with 22 multi-member electoral districts. Kopay electoral district was replaced by the Jaffna multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections, the first under the PR system, though Kopay continues to be a polling division of the multi-member electoral district.

## Members of Parliament

Key
ACTC ITAK TULF
| Election | Member | Party | Term |
| 1947 | C. Vanniasingam | All Ceylon Tamil Congress | 1947-1952 |
| 1952 | C. Vanniasingam | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | 1952-1956 |
| 1956 | C. Vanniasingam | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | 1956-1960 |
| 1960 (March) | M. Balasundaram | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | 1960-1960 |
| 1960 (July) | M. Balasundaram | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | 1960-1965 |
| 1965 | S. Kathiravelupillai | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | 1965-1970 |
| 1970 | S. Kathiravelupillai | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | 1970-1977 |
| 1977 | S. Kathiravelupillai | Tamil United Liberation Front | 1977-1989 |

## Elections
### 1947 Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 1st parliamentary election held between 23 August 1947 and 20 September 1947:
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| | C. Vanniasingam | All Ceylon Tamil Congress | Elephant | 9,619 | 58.90% |
| | S. Rasaratnam | United National Party | Hand | 5,266 | 32.24% |
| | C. Ragunathan | Independent | Cart Wheel | 1,447 | 8.86% |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 16,332 | 100.00% |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 276 | |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 16,608 | |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 32,999 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 50.33% |

### 1952 Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 2nd parliamentary election held between 24 May 1952 and 30 May 1952:
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| | C. Vanniasingam | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | Key | 9,410 | 44.89% |
| | C. Arulampalam | All Ceylon Tamil Congress | Elephant | 9,200 | 43.88% |
| | R. R. Dharmaratnam | | Star | 2,354 | 11.23% |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 20,964 | 100.00% |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 283 | |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 21,247 | |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 32,903 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 64.57% |

### 1956 Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 3rd parliamentary election held between 5 April 1956 and 10 April 1956:
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| | C. Vanniasingam | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | House | 12,804 | 53.83% |
| | C. Arulampalam | | Umbrella | 10,983 | 46.17% |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 23,787 | 100.00% |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 304 | |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 24,091 | |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 34,465 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 69.90% |
C. Vanniasingam died on 17 September 1959.

### 1960 (March) Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 4th parliamentary election held on 19 March 1960:
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| | M. Balasundaram | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | House | 10,279 | 48.63% |
| | T. Gunaratnam | All Ceylon Tamil Congress | Bicycle | 4,936 | 23.35% |
| | S. K. Nallathamby | | Sun | 3,494 | 16.53% |
| | K. V. S. Shanmuganathan | Lanka Sama Samaja Party | Key | 1,777 | 8.41% |
| | S. P. Nadarajah | Communist Party | Star | 458 | 2.17% |
| | S. Sivasubramaniam | | Cockerel | 192 | 0.91% |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 21,136 | 100.00% |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 351 | |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 21,487 | |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 27,858 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 77.13% |

### 1960 (July) Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 5th parliamentary election held on 20 July 1960:
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| | M. Balasundaram | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | House | 12,088 | 67.64% |
| | T. Gunaratnam | All Ceylon Tamil Congress | Bicycle | 5,782 | 32.36% |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 17,870 | 100.00% |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 188 | |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 18,058 | |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 27,858 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 64.82% |

### 1965 Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 6th parliamentary election held on 22 March 1965:
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| | S. Kathiravelupillai | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | House | 12,339 | 51.93% |
| | T. Gunaratnam | All Ceylon Tamil Congress | Bicycle | 8,230 | 34.64% |
| | M. Thurairajah | Lanka Sama Samaja Party | Key | 2,625 | 11.05% |
| | M. Balasundaram | | Umbrella | 568 | 2.39% |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 23,762 | 100.00% |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 361 | |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 24,123 | |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 33,091 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 72.90% |

### 1970 Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 7th parliamentary election held on 27 May 1970:
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| | S. Kathiravelupillai | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | House | 16,428 | 55.85% |
| | T. Gunaratnam | All Ceylon Tamil Congress | Bicycle | 11,288 | 38.38% |
| | M. S. Kanagasundaram | | Pair of Scales | 983 | 3.34% |
| | M. Thurairajah | Sri Lanka Freedom Party | Hand | 713 | 2.42% |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 29,412 | 100.00% |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 189 | |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 29,601 | |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 37,464 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 79.01% |

### 1977 Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 8th parliamentary election held on 21 July 1977:
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| | S. Kathiravelupillai | Tamil United Liberation Front | Sun | 25,840 | 77.20% |
| | V. Nadarajah | Lanka Sama Samaja Party | Key | 3,487 | 10.42% |
| | S. Jeganathan | United National Party | Elephant | 2,699 | 8.06% |
| | V. T. Jeyadevan | Independent | Ship | 1,444 | 4.31% |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 33,470 | 100.00% |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 149 | |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 33,619 | |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 41,824 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 80.38% |
S. Kathiravelupillai died on 31 March 1981. His replacement M. Alalasundaram was sworn in on 23 July 1981.
M. Alalasundaram and all other TULF MPs boycotted Parliament from the middle of 1983 for a number of reasons: they were under pressure from Sri Lankan Tamil militants not to stay in Parliament beyond their normal six-year term; the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka required them to swear an oath unconditionally renouncing support for a separate state; and the Black July riots in which up to 3,000 Tamils were murdered by Sinhalese mobs. After three months of absence, Alalasundaram forfeited his seat in Parliament on 5 January 1984.
M. Alalasundaram was murdered on 2 September 1985.

## References & footnotes

* ↑ "The Electoral System". Parliament of Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on 2010-11-27.
* ↑ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1947" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-12-09.
* ↑ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1952" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-12-09.
* 1 2 3 4 5 6 Also known as the Federal Party
* ↑ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1956" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-12-09.
* ↑ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1960-03-19" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-12-09.
* ↑ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1960-07-20" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-12-09.
* ↑ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1965" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-12-09.
* ↑ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1970" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-12-09. Retrieved 2009-02-15.
* ↑ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1977" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-17.
* ↑ KT Rajasingham (16 February 2002). "Chapter 27 - Horsewhip Amirthalingham". SRI LANKA: THE UNTOLD STORY. Asia Times. Archived from the original on 22 June 2002. Retrieved 23 March 2010.
* ↑ Wickramasinghe, Wimal (18 January 2008). "Saga of crossovers, expulsions and resignations etc. Referendum for extention [sic] of Parliament". The Island, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original on January 22, 2008.
* ↑ KT Rajasingham. "Chapter 33: India shows its hand". SRI LANKA: THE UNTOLD STORY. Asia Times. Archived from the original on 7 April 2002. Retrieved 23 March 2010.