Sri Lanka

Parliament

Political system
Presidential-Parliamentary
Structure of parliament
Unicameral
IPU membership
Yes
»

Election results

Data on parliamentary elections, including the background, candidates, voter turnout, results and the formation of the new legislature. By default the latest election results are displayed. Select a date to view results from previous elections.

Background

Election date(s)
14 Nov 2024
Date of dissolution of the outgoing legislature
24 Sep 2024
Timing of election
Early elections

Notes: Under constitutional amendments passed by Parliament in October 2022, the term of Parliament has been shortened from six to five years (starting from the date of the first sitting). The new term applied to the outgoing legislature, which held its first sitting on 20 August 2020 and was to function until August 2025 “unless sooner dissolved”.

Expected date of next elections
30 Nov 2029
Number of seats at stake
225
Scope of elections
Full renewal

Candidates

Number of parties contesting the election
49

Notes: 49 political parties and 282 independent groups

Total number of candidates
8,888
The number of women candidates is not available from authoritative sources.
Yes

Voter turnout

Registered voters
17,140,354
Voters
11,815,246
Voter turnout
68.9%

Results

About the election

National People's Power (Jathika Jana Balawegaya, NPP, see note 1) which is led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, secured a two-thirds majority in the 225-member Parliament at the 2024 snap elections (see note 2). NPP won 159 seats, up from 3 in 2020. The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), led by opposition leader, Mr. Sajith Premadasa, came a distant second with 40 seats. Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP, led by former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa), the largest party in the outgoing legislature, reduced its share from 145 to a mere 3 seats. A record 21 women were directly elected (up from 12 in 2020), of whom 19 are members of NPP, and two are from SJB. On 18 November, the new NPP-led Cabinet took office under the premiership of Ms. Harini Amarasuriya. On 21 November, the newly elected Parliament held its first session and elected Mr. Ashoka Ranwala (NPP) as its new Speaker.

The 2024 snap elections followed a presidential election held on 21 September 2024. Mr. Dissanayake, known for his Marxist-leaning policies, was elected President. Amongst others, he defeated Mr. Premadasa (SJB) and the then President, Mr. Ranil Wickremesinghe (independent, see note 3). Mr. Dissanayake was sworn into office on 23 September. On 24 September, he appointed Ms. Harini Amarasuriya (NPP) as the new Prime Minister, replacing Mr. Dinesh Gunawardena. On 25 September, President Dissanayake dissolved Parliament in view of the snap elections. During the parliamentary election campaign, the major parties used similar platforms to those of the presidential election. President Dissanayake (NPP) promised to combat corruption, restore stability and re-negotiate the terms of a $3bn loan from the International Monetary Fund that has resulted in tough austerity measures.

Note 1:
The NPP, also known as Jathika Jana Balawegaya (JJB), was established in 2019 and made up of 21 different groups.

Note 2:
Under constitutional amendments passed by Parliament in October 2022, the term of Parliament has been shortened from six to five years (starting from the date of the first sitting). The new term applied to the outgoing legislature, which held its first sitting on 20 August 2020 and was to function until August 2025 “unless sooner dissolved”.

Note 3:
Mr. Wickremesinghe, then Prime Minister, was indirectly elected by Parliament as the new President in July 2022, after mass protests unseated the then President, Gotabaya Rajapaksa (SLPP). The protests were held amid the country’s worst economic crisis.

Number of parties winning seats
13
Percentage of parties winning seats
26.5%
Percentage of seats won by largest party or coalition
70.7%
Alternation of power after elections
Yes
Number of parties in government
1
Names of parties in government
National People's Power (Jathika Jana Balawegaya, NPP)

Parties or coalitions winning seats

Parties or coalitions winning seats
Political group Total Constituency seats National seats
National People's Power (Jathika Jana Balawegaya, NPP) 159 141 18
Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) 40 35 5
Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kadch 8 7 1
New Democratic Front 5 3 2
Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) 3 2 1
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) 3 2 1
Sarvajana Balaya 1 0 1
United National Party (UNP) 1 1 0
Democratic Tamil National Alliance 1 1 0
All Ceylon Tamil Congress (ACTC) 1 1 0
All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) 1 1 0
Jaffna - Independent Group 17 1 1 0
Sri Lanka Labour Party 1 1 0
Members elected, by sex
Number of men elected
175
Number of women elected
21
Percentage of women elected
10.7%
Women Directly Elected
21
Women Indirectly Elected
1
Other notes on the elections

Note on the parties or coalitions winning seats:
The column “Constituency seats” refers to the 196 seats filled by proportional representation from multi-member constituencies.
The column “National seats” refers to the remaining 29 seats, which are distributed to political parties in proportion to the overall share of the votes they received in the election.

Sources

New legislature

Total number of men after the election
198
Total number of women after the election
22

Notes:

- There were 21 women elected in November 2024.
- At the first session of the newly elected legislature, held on 21 November 2024, there were 21 women out of 219 members.
- As at 4 December 2024, there were 22 women out of 220 members, with five vacancies among the 29 National seats.

Percentage of women after the election
10.0%
First-term parliamentarians
No information available
Percentage of first-term parliamentarians
No information available
Date of the first session
21 Nov 2024

First Speaker of the new legislature

Personal details for the first Speaker of the new legislature
Ashoka Ranwala (Male)
Date of birth: 19 Jun 1960
Political party
National People's Power (Jathika Jana Balawegaya, NPP)
Date of election
21 Nov 2024

Historical data for IPU membership

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Historical data for IPU membership
Year IPU membership
2020-09
List of values for 2020-09
No
2019-04
List of values for 2019-04
No
2018-06
List of values for 2018-06
No