2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election

Parliamentary elections were held in Sri Lanka on 14 November 2024 to elect 225 members to the new parliament. The 16th Parliament of Sri Lanka was dissolved on 24 September 2024. The submission of nominations for the election commenced on 4 October and concluded on 11 October 2024 at 12:00.
The result of the election was a landslide victory for the left-wing National People's Power coalition led by recently elected president Anura Kumara Dissanayake. The NPP won 159 seats, more than any Sri Lankan political party in history, the second highest proportion of seats in the nation's history, and won every district except Batticaloa. This was the first election since 1977 where a single party managed to achieve a supermajority and the first time the Jaffna District was won by a non-Tamil political party. This election also saw a record in women's representation with 21 female MPs elected, the highest in Sri Lanka's parliamentary history, and a record number of more than 150 MPs are first-timers.
Following the election, the newly elected 17th Parliament of Sri Lanka was inaugurated on 21 November 2024.
The Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance (SLPFA), led by Mahinda Rajapaksa, won a large majority in the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election on 5 August 2020. During their tenure, the government under President Gotabaya Rajapaksa and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa faced multiple crises, including the COVID-19 pandemic and an economic crisis, which culminated into widespread protests and the 2022 Sri Lankan political crisis.
These events led to both Gotabaya Rajapaksa fleeing the country and resigning as president, and Mahinda Rajapaksa also stepping down as prime minister. Ranil Wickremesinghe was first appointed as prime minister and later became the acting president following Gotabaya Rajapaksa's resignation. In a parliamentary vote on 20 July 2022, Wickremesinghe was elected 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 defeated his main rivals, Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa and incumbent President Ranil Wickremesinghe, to become the 10th President of Sri Lanka.
As per the Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 1 of 1981, although the Sri Lankan parliament has a term of five years, the president can dissolve it after two years and six months from its first meeting or upon receiving a resolution from parliament. In spite of the 16th parliament's scheduled end in August 2025, President Dissanayake, exercising his constitutional powers and fulfilling an election pledge, dissolved parliament early on 24 September 2024.
The Parliament has 225 members elected for a five-year term. 196 members are elected from 22 multi-seat constituencies through an open list proportional representation system with a 5% electoral threshold; voters can rank up to three candidates on the party list they vote for. The other 29 seats are elected from a national list, with list members appointed by party secretaries and seats allocated according to the island-wide proportional vote the party obtains.
Every proclamation dissolving parliament must be published in The Sri Lanka Gazette and must specify the nomination period and the date of the election. The first meeting of the new parliament must occur within three months of the previous parliament's dissolution.
On 25 September 2024, the Election Commission released details regarding the number of members to be elected from each electoral district in the upcoming parliamentary election, the number of candidates to be listed on the nomination paper, and the deposit amount required from independent groups. Recognised political parties are exempt from making a deposit.
In a media release on 12 October 2024, the Election Commission announced that a total of 8,821 candidates would contest the parliamentary election. Of these, 5,564 candidates represent registered political parties, while 3,257 are contesting as independents.
Socialist Party of Sri Lanka's candidate Chanu Nimesha made history as the first official transgender candidate in Sri Lankan political history to contest at the General Elections.
Under the Anti-Corruption Act, No. 9 of 2023, all election candidates are required to submit a Declaration of Assets and Liabilities to the Commissioner of Elections along with their nomination papers, covering assets and liabilities up to the date the election is announced. Candidates seeking national list nominations must also submit their declarations.
On 17 October 2024, the Election Commission issued a circular setting the maximum campaign spending limit for candidates in the 2024 General Election. This cap applies to candidates, political parties, independent groups, and national list candidates, and is determined by district.
These regulations are enforced under the Regulation of Election Expenditure Act, No. 3 of 2023. Parties must submit expenditure reports to the Election Commission within 21 days of the election results being declared.
Election campaigning activities concluded at 24:00 on 11 November 2024. A silent period will be enforced until election day on 14 November 2024, during which all campaign activities are prohibited.
On 12 November 2024, the Election Commission announced that foreign election observers would participate in monitoring the upcoming election. These include representatives from South Asian countries, Russia, Thailand, and members of the Asian Network for Free Elections (ANFREL).
YouTuber Ashen Senarathna announced his candidacy for the Sri Lankan Parliament, seeking to represent the Colombo electoral district as part of an independent group. On 11 October 2024, the Election Commission rejected his nomination, citing that it was submitted by an unauthorised individual, which led to disqualification. Senarathna plans to take legal action, claiming he was asked to wait outside while another candidate submitted the nomination.
Actress Damitha Abeyratne was expected to contest the general elections from the Ratnapura electoral district under the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) ticket. However, her name did not appear on the list of candidates submitted by the SJB to the District Secretariat. Hesha Withanage, the SJB leader for Ratnapura, stated that the decision to exclude her name was made by district members.
On 12 October 2024, former MP Ajith Mannapperuma withdrew from the parliamentary elections and resigned from Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), a day after submitting his nomination for the Gampaha electoral district. He cited his removal as SJB chief organiser for the Gampaha electorate. He also expressed disappointment with party leader Sajith Premadasa and his leadership.
The following nationwide presidential poll was conducted by the Institute for Health Policy (IHP), an independent research institution.
The July 2022 poll lists the SJB and UNP as one party, as well as the SLPP and SLFP. All polls between January 2023 and August 2024 list the SJB and UNP separately, while the November 2024 poll lists the NDF rather than the UNP.
The Election Commission initially accepted postal voting applications from 1–8 October 2024, later extending the deadline to 24:00 on 10 October 2024. The postal voting facility is exclusively available to pre-approved officials involved in election duties.
Approved individuals began casting votes on 30 October 2024. The postal voting process adhered to the Election Commission's schedule, with voting continuing on 1, 4, and 7 November, and concluding on 8 November 2024.
Voting commenced at 07:00 on 14 November 2024 at 13,314 polling stations across the island and concluded at 16:00.
President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's National People's Power alliance won 159 of the 225 seats, securing a two-thirds majority in the Parliament. This surge in the NPP's seat count from three in the previous Parliament marks a shift in Sri Lankan politics. Reports suggest that Dissanayake's campaign focused on anti-corruption, social welfare, and economic revival amidst the country's economic crisis resonated with voters.
In the north and east, a decrease in support amongst Tamil and Muslim voters for traditional ethnic parties were given to be the reason for the NPP's success.
The main opposition alliance, Sajith Premadasa's Samagi Jana Balawegaya, won 40 seats, a decrease from the previous election. Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe's New Democratic Front secured 5 seats, while former President Mahinda Rajapaksa's Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna collapsed from 145 seats in the previous election, winning 3 seats.
President Dissanayake expressed thanks to voters for the NPP's showing, calling it a "renaissance". Having secured over a two-thirds majority in Parliament, the NPP now has the power to amend the Constitution of Sri Lanka, having made various promises to do so during the campaign.