# Jaffna Electoral District (1947–1989)

Jaffna Electoral District was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between August 1947 and February 1989. The district was named after the city of Jaffna 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. Jaffna electoral district was replaced by the Jaffna multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections, the first under the PR system, though Jaffna continues to be a polling division of the multi-member electoral district.

## Members of Parliament

Key
Independent All Ceylon Tamil Congress Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi TULF
| Election | Member | Party | Term |
| 1947 | G. G. Ponnambalam | All Ceylon Tamil Congress | 1947-1960 |
| 1952 | G. G. Ponnambalam | All Ceylon Tamil Congress | 1947-1960 |
| 1956 | G. G. Ponnambalam | All Ceylon Tamil Congress | 1947-1960 |
| 1960 (March) | Alfred Duraiappah | Independent | 1960-1965 |
| 1960 (July) | Alfred Duraiappah | Independent | 1960-1965 |
| 1965 | G. G. Ponnambalam | All Ceylon Tamil Congress | 1965-1970 |
| 1970 | C. X. Martyn | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | 1970-1977 |
| 1977 | V. Yogeswaran | 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 | % |
| | G. G. Ponnambalam | All Ceylon Tamil Congress | Bicycle | 14,324 | 73.28% |
| | Arunachalam Mahadeva | United National Party | Elephant | 5,224 | 26.72% |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 19,548 | 100.00% |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 133 | |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 19,681 | |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 42,546 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 46.26% |

### 1952 Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 2nd parliamentary election held between 24 May 1952 and 30 May 1952:
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| | G. G. Ponnambalam | All Ceylon Tamil Congress | Umbrella | 12,726 | 60.48% |
| | E. M. V. Naganathan | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | Hand | 8,317 | 39.52% |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 21,043 | 100.00% |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 88 | |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 21,131 | |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 29,489 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 71.66% |

### 1956 Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 3rd parliamentary election held between 5 April 1956 and 10 April 1956:
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| | G. G. Ponnambalam | All Ceylon Tamil Congress | Bicycle | 8,914 | 40.46% |
| | E. M. V. Naganathan | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | House | 7,173 | 32.56% |
| | M. Karthigasan | Communist Party | Star | 3,239 | 14.70% |
| | Arulambalam Visuvanathan | Lanka Sama Samaja Party | Key | 2,703 | 12.27% |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 22,029 | 100.00% |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 149 | |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 22,178 | |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 34,804 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 63.72% |

### 1960 (March) Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 4th parliamentary election held on 19 March 1960:
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| | Alfred Duraiappah | Independent | Sun | 6,201 | 35.68% |
| | G. G. Ponnambalam | All Ceylon Tamil Congress | Bicycle | 5,312 | 30.56% |
| | S. Kathiravelupillai | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | House | 5,101 | 29.35% |
| | Arulambalam Visuvanathan | Lanka Sama Samaja Party | Key | 767 | 4.41% |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 17,381 | 100.00% |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 92 | |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 17,473 | |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 24,299 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 71.91% |

### 1960 (July) Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 5th parliamentary election held on 20 July 1960:
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| | Alfred Duraiappah | Independent | Bicycle | 6,313 | 35.13% |
| | G. G. Ponnambalam | All Ceylon Tamil Congress | Eye | 6,015 | 33.47% |
| | S. Kathiravelupillai | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | House | 5,644 | 31.40% |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 17,972 | 100.00% |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 84 | |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 18,056 | |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 25,299 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 74.31% |

### 1965 Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 6th parliamentary election held on 22 March 1965:
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| | G. G. Ponnambalam | All Ceylon Tamil Congress | Bicycle | 9,350 | 42.37% |
| | C. X. Martyn | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | House | 6,800 | 30.81% |
| | Alfred Duraiappah | | Pair of Scales | 5,918 | 26.82% |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 22,068 | 100.00% |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 73 | |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 22,141 | |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 28,473 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 77.76% |

### 1970 Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 7th parliamentary election held on 27 May 1970:
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| | C. X. Martyn | Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | House | 8,848 | 35.59% |
| | Alfred Duraiappah | Independent | Umbrella | 8,792 | 35.36% |
| | G. G. Ponnambalam | All Ceylon Tamil Congress | Bicycle | 7,222 | 29.05% |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 24,862 | 100.00% |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 76 | |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 24,938 | |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 31,214 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 79.89% |

### 1977 Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 8th parliamentary election held on 21 July 1977:
| Candidate | Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % |
| | V. Yogeswaran | Tamil United Liberation Front | Sun | 16,251 | 51.26% |
| | Kumar Ponnambalam | Independent | Tree | 6,960 | 24.25% |
| | A. L. Abraham | | Pair of Scales | 4,349 | 15.15% |
| | C. X. Martyn | | Umbrella | 900 | 3.14% |
| | A. G. Rajasooriar | | Chair | 164 | 0..57% |
| | A. Tharmalingham | Independent | Ship | 77 | 0.27% |
| Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | Valid Votes | 28,701 | 100.00% |
| Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | Rejected Votes | 78 | |
| Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | Total Polled | 28,779 | |
| Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | Registered Electors | 34,865 | |
| Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | Turnout | 82.54% |
V. Yogeswaran 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, Yogeswaran forfeited his seat in Parliament on 22 October 1983.

## 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 2015-09-24.
* ↑ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1952" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-24.
* 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 2015-09-24.
* ↑ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1960-03-19" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-07-12.
* ↑ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1960-07-20" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-09-24.
* ↑ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1965" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2015-07-13.
* ↑ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1970" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-12-09.
* ↑ "Result of Parliamentary General Election 1977" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-17.
* ↑ 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 17 June 2011. Retrieved 24 April 2011.