1970 Ceylonese parliamentary election

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7th Ceylonese parliamentary election
← 1965 27 May 1970 1977 →
151 seats to the House of Representatives of Ceylon
76 seats were needed for a majority
  First party Second party Third party
 
Leader Sirimavo Bandaranaike N. M. Perera Dudley Senanayake
Party SLFP LSSP UNP
Leader since 1960 1945 1957
Leader's seat Attanagalla Yatiyantota Dedigama
Last election 41 Seats, 30.18% 10 Seats, 7.47% 66 Seats, 39.31%
Seats won 91 19 17
Seat change Increase50 Increase9 Decrease49
Popular vote 1,839,979 433,224 1,892,525
Percentage 36.86% 8.68% 37.91%
Prime Minister before election

Dudley Senanayake
UNP

Prime Minister-designate

Sirimavo Bandaranaike
SLFP

General elections were held in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) in 1970.

Background

SLFP leader Sirimavo Bandaranaike had come to the conclusion that her party's best hope of power was forming a permanent alliance with Ceylon's Marxist parties. She assembled the SLFP, the Trotskyist LSSP, and the Communists into the United Front coalition. The UF's platform was called the Common Programme; it featured extensive nationalization, a non-aligned foreign policy, expanded social programmes, and replacement of the British-imposed, monarchical Soulbury constitution with a republican constitution.

The UNP government of Dudley Senanayake had not made much headway with Ceylon's twin problems of inflation and unemployment, nor had it attempted solved the linked problems of feudal property relations and adverse terms of trade by agrarian reform and industrialisation. The UNP had become widely perceived as a party of the rich, out of touch with the concerns of ordinary people. The UF's socialist platform had much greater appeal.

Results

The UF (with 49% of the vote) won an overwhelming majority, despite the UNP's plurality of the popular vote, due to the member parties running in different constituencies. The Tamil majority constituencies voted mainly for the two Tamil parties, one of which (the All Ceylon Tamil Congress), later joined the UF.[citation needed]

The 1970 election was the last held under the Soulbury constitution. The UF Government established the free, sovereign and independent Republic of Sri Lanka in 1972, breaking the last ties of colonialism.

The British-owned plantations were nationalised and there was land reform - giving poor rural people land. Industrial democracy was instituted in the transport and manufacturing sectors. A National pharmaceuticals policy was established, allowing for affordable drugs. A new education policy was followed, aimed at making education more relevant.

Increased protection led to growth in the manufacturing sector, particularly in textiles and garments, electronics and industrial machinery.

e • d Summary of the 1970 Ceylonese parliamentary election[1]
Party Candidates Votes % Seats
style="background-color:Template:Sri Lanka Freedom Party/meta/color" |  Sri Lanka Freedom Party 108 1,839,979 36.86% 91
style="background-color:Template:Lanka Sama Samaja Party/meta/color" |  Lanka Sama Samaja Party 23 433,224 8.68% 19
style="background-color:Template:United National Party/meta/color" |  United National Party 130 1,892,525 37.91% 17
style="background-color:Template:Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi/meta/color" |  Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi 19 245,727 4.92% 13
style="background-color:Template:Communist Party of Ceylon/meta/color" |  Communist Party of Ceylon 9 169,199 3.39% 6
style="background-color:Template:All Ceylon Tamil Congress/meta/color" |  All Ceylon Tamil Congress 12 115,567 2.32% 3
style="background-color:Template:Mahajana Eksath Peramuna/meta/color" |  Mahajana Eksath Peramuna 4 46,571 0.93% 0
Others 136 249,006 4.99% 2
Valid Votes 441 4,991,798 100.00% 151
Rejected Votes
Total Votes Polled
Total Electors Polled[a]
Registered Electors 5,505,028
Turnout[b]

Notes

  1. ^ Total electors polled is less than total votes polled due to multiple-member seats where electors can cast more than one vote.
  2. ^ Actual turnout was slightly higher due to R. M. Bandara (SLFP) being elected from Welimada Electoral District without a contest.

References

  1. ^ "Table 37 Parliament Election (1970)". Sri Lanka Statistics. 10 February 2009.
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