# Devinuwara Electoral District

Devinuwara electoral district was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between March 1960 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Devinuwara in Matara District, Southern 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. Devinuwara electoral district was replaced by the Matara multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections.

## Members of Parliament

Key
Independent SLFP UNP
| Election | Member |
| 1960 (March) | C. A. Dharmapala |
| 1960 (July) | P. P. Wickremasuriya |
| 1965 | William de Silva |
| 1970 | Ronnie de Mel |
| 1977 | Ronnie de Mel |

## Elections
### 1960 (March) Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 4th parliamentary election held on 19 March 1960:
| Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| C. A. Dharmapala | | Elephant | 8,748 | 33.43 |
| P. P. Wickremasuriya | | Hand | 6,720 | 25.68 |
| E. K. Cyril | | Cockrel | 4,223 | 16.14 |
| L. U. Jayasinghe | | Rabbit | 2,425 | 9.27 |
| Aelian Nanayakkara | | Star | 1,743 | 6.66 |
| U. H. Amarasena | | Cartwheel | 1,594 | 6.09 |
| D. J. Mohotti | | Bell | 212 | 0.81 |
| Charles Gandara | | Umbrella | 210 | 0.80 |
| P. Hendavitarana | | Key | 94 | 0.36 |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 25,969 | 99.22 |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 203 | 0.78 |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 26,172 | 100.00 |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 34,254 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 76.41 |

### 1960 (July) Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 5th parliamentary election held on 20 July 1960:
| Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| P. P. Wickremasuriya | | Hand | 15,603 | 59.95 |
| C. A. Dharmapala | | Elephant | 10,332 | 39.70 |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 25,935 | 99.65 |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 91 | 0.35 |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 26,026 | 100.00 |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 34,254 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 75.98 |

### 1965 Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 6th parliamentary election held on 22 March 1965:
| Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| William de Silva | | Hand | 15,295 | 47.87 |
| P. P. Wickremasuriya | | Sun | 14,308 | 44.78 |
| E. K. Cyril | | Umbrella | 1,342 | 4.20 |
| Charlis Abayasundara | | Chair | 499 | 1.56 |
| P. N. Bamunusinghe | | Flower | 305 | 0.95 |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 31,749 | 99.37 |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 203 | 0.63 |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 31,952 | 100.00 |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 40,956 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 78.02 |

### 1970 Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 7th parliamentary election held on 27 May 1970:
| Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| Ronnie de Mel | | Hand | 20,798 | 57.99 |
| P. P. Wickremasuriya | | Elephant | 14,747 | 41.12 |
| H. P. D. Weerasinghe | | Bell | 263 | 0.73 |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 35,808 | 99.86 |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 52 | 0.14 |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 35,860 | 100.00 |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 44,112 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 81.29 |

### 1977 Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 8th parliamentary election held on 21 July 1977:
| Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| Ronnie de Mel | | Elephant | 23,776 | 55.87 |
| H. W. Dickson | | Hand | 14,337 | 33.69 |
| Mahindapala Wijesekera | | Star | 4,163 | 9.78 |
| S. E. Wijesuriya | | Lamp | 198 | 0.47 |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 42,474 | 99.81 |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 82 | 0.19 |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 42,556 | 100.00 |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 49,897 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 85.29 |