# Next Sri Lankan local elections

Local elections have not been held in Sri Lanka since 2018. Elections were originally scheduled to be held in 2022, but were postponed to 2023 due to the worsening economic crisis and instability in the country, before being postponed again several times by the government of President Ranil Wickremesinghe. Currently, there is no official date scheduled for the elections.
A total of 17,296,330 Sri Lankans will be eligible to vote in this election, according to the Election Commission of Sri Lanka, to elect members to 27 municipal councils, 36 urban councils and 274 pradeshiya sabhas.

## Background

Sri Lanka's last local government elections in 2018 resulted in the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) securing a majority with 40% of the vote.
Gotabaya Rajapaksa, contesting under the SLPP, subsequently won the 2019 Sri Lankan presidential election, while Mahinda Rajapaksa led the SLPP to victory in the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election.
During their tenure, the SLPP government, faced numerous challenges, including the COVID-19 pandemic and a severe economic crisis. These issues culminated in widespread protests and the 2022 Sri Lankan political crisis.
As a result, Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled the country and resigned as president, while Mahinda Rajapaksa also stepped down as prime minister. Ranil Wickremesinghe was first appointed prime minister and later became acting president following Gotabaya Rajapaksa's resignation. On 20 July 2022, Wickremesinghe was elected by parliament as the 9th President of Sri Lanka, tasked with completing the remainder of Rajapaksa's term.
In the 2024 Sri Lankan presidential election held on 21 September 2024, Anura Kumara Dissanayake of the National People's Power (NPP) defeated Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe to become the 10th President of Sri Lanka. In the subsequent 2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, the NPP emerged as the largest party, winning a supermajority with 159 elected members and 61.56% of the votes. The NPP subsequently formed the government of Sri Lanka.

### Postponing of polls

The term of office for 340 out of 341 local government authorities expired at midnight on 19 March 2023. The elections, originally scheduled for 2022, were postponed indefinitely by President Rajapaksa due to the economic crisis, resulting in a one-year extension of the term of office.
The Election Commission set the election date for 9 March 2023. The SLPP was the first to submit election deposits.
On 14 February 2023, postal voting was postponed after the government printer refused to supply ballots without payment, sparking accusations of further delays. By late February, doubts about the election's feasibility grew due to funding disputes. President Wickremesinghe stated elections should not be held during the crisis, citing financial constraints. On 24 February, the Election Commission officially postponed the elections, initially rescheduled for 25 April.
Opposition parties, including the Samagi Jana Balawegaya, criticised Wickremesinghe's stance, with Sajith Premadasa pointing out that the UNP had submitted nominations despite no official election schedule.

### Court ruling and subsequent proceedings

On 22 August 2024, the Supreme Court ruled that the delay violated voters' rights and ordered the Election Commission to hold the elections immediately.
On 3 December 2024, the cabinet spokesman announced that the cabinet of ministers had approved drafting the Local Authorities Elections (Special Provisions) Bill to cancel the nominations received in 2023 for the scheduled local elections which were postponed and to call for new nominations. The bill was published in The Sri Lanka Gazette on 1 January and subsequently presented to Parliament on 9 January 2025.
Nizam Kariapper and three other parties petitioned the Supreme Court, challenging the constitutionality of certain clauses in the bill. The Supreme Court concluded the hearings on 27 January 2025 and forwarded its determination to the Speaker of the Parliament, who read it out in Parliament on 14 February 2025. It was revealed that, in a majority ruling, the Supreme Court determined certain clauses of the bill to be inconsistent with the Constitution and requiring a special majority for enactment. The bill was debated on 17 February 2025 and passed by a special majority without amendments. It was endorsed by the Speaker on the same day and came into effect as the Local Authorities Elections (Special Provisions) Act No. 01 of 2025.
On 17 February 2025, a Gazette Extraordinary notification was issued by Chandana Abayarathna, Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils, and Local Government, stating that the term of 337 local government authorities would commence on 2 June 2025. These include 27 municipal councils, 36 urban councils and 274 pradeshiya sabhas.
On 3 March 2025, the Election Commission announced that nominations for the 2025 Sri Lankan local elections would be accepted from 17 to 20 March 2025 until 12:00. As stated in Gazette Extraordinary No. 2424/02, nominations will be accepted for 337 local government authorities. However, the Kalmunai Municipal Council and the pradeshiya sabhas of Dehiattakandiya, Mannar, Punakari and Elpitiya are excluded from this election.

## Timeline

Key events and dates :
| Date | Day | Event |
| 21 September 2024 | Saturday | 2024 Sri Lankan presidential election: Anura Kumara Dissanayake is elected as president. |
| 14 November 2024 | Thursday | 2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election: The National People's Power emerged as the largest party, securing a supermajority with 159 elected members and 61.56% of the vote. |
| 17–20 March 2025 | Monday to Thursday | The nomination period. |
| 2 June 2025 | Monday | The commencement date of the new term for 337 local government authorities (27 municipal councils, 36 urban councils and 274 pradeshiya sabhas). |

## Electoral system

Local authority elections are conducted using a mixed proportional system, as outlined in the Local Authorities Election (Amendment) Acts, No. 22 of 2012, No. 1 of 2016 and No. 16 of 2017. Members are elected through two methods: 60% from wards (both single-member and multi-member) and 40% from proportional representation lists.
The Delimitation Commission has defined the number of wards for all local authorities, with the details published in The Sri Lanka Gazette (No. 1928/26 of 21 August 2015 and No. 2006/44 of 17 February 2017).
Political parties and independent groups must submit two nomination lists, ensuring the total number of candidates equals the required membership of the local authority. Additionally, the proportional list must include three extra candidates.
To ensure women's representation, 10% of the total number of members elected must be women, distributed across both the ward-based and proportional systems. Youth representation was initially set at 25% and later increased to 30%, although it has not been made compulsory. In 2025, the Election Commission mandated that youth representation must exceed 25% in nomination lists. It also required political parties to ensure that divisional-level nomination lists include at least 25% female candidates, while proportional nomination lists must have 50% female representation.
An Extraordinary Gazette notification issued by the Election Commission on 1 March 2025 detailed the number of candidates to be nominated for each local authority, the required nominations in the first and second nomination papers, deposit amounts and the minimum number of women and youth candidates. It also specified the number of women members to be elected for each local authority to maintain a 25% representation.

## Recent Sri Lankan election results

| Election | Results | Results | Results | Results | Results | Results | Results | Results | Results | Results | Results | Results | Results |
| Election | National People's Power | National People's Power | Samagi Jana Balawegaya | Samagi Jana Balawegaya | New Democratic Front | New Democratic Front | Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna | Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna | Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | Others | Others | Map |
| Election | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Votes | % | Map |
| 2024 presidential election | 5,634,915 | 42.31% | 4,363,035 | 32.76% | 2,299,767 | 17.27% | 342,781 | 2.57% | — | — | 407,473 | 3.06% | |
| 2024 Elpitiya PS election | 17,295 | 47.64% | 7,924 | 21.83% | — | — | 3,597 | 9.91% | — | — | 7,489 | 20.62% | — |
| 2024 parliamentary election | 6,863,186 | 61.56% | 1,968,716 | 17.66% | 500,835 | 4.49% | 350,429 | 3.14% | 257,813 | 2.31% | 1,207,027 | 10.22% | |