Presidential election in Sri Lanka 2019

The 2019 presidential election in Sri Lanka took place on November 16 . Due to a constitutional change in 2015, the elected president has far fewer powers than his predecessors before 2015. The focus of executive power has since shifted to the prime minister.

Gotabaya Rajapaksa won the election with 52.25% of the vote. The turnout was 83.7%.

Developments since the last election

2015 presidential election and developments immediately afterwards

The previous presidential election in Sri Lanka took place on January 8, 2015. At that time, incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa and his challenger Maithripala Sirisena faced each other. Rajapaksa ran for a third term. In order to make this possible at all, at the instigation of Rajapaksa, the constitution, which originally provided for a term of office to be limited to two terms, was changed. Before his candidacy, Sirisena was a member of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the Rajapaksa party, and a minister in its government. Shortly after the election announcement, however, he announced his resignation from government office and resignation from the SLFP, as well as his candidacy for the office of president. He quickly received the support of the United National Party (UNP), the leading opposition party, as well as many SLFP supporters, who had become uncanny about Rajapaksa's abundance of power and authoritarian behavior. The dominance of the Rajapaksa family clan in Sri Lanka's economy and politics also aroused displeasure. The Tamil minority in the country supported the opposition candidate Sirisena in the election with a large majority.

Ultimately, Sirisena won the election just ahead of Rajapaksa. Shortly after the election, he and his supporters were re-accepted into the SLFP. The supporters of Rajapaksa continued to form a strong faction within the SLFP. Shortly after taking office, Sirisena implemented a series of constitutional changes that he had promised in the election campaign. This included the restructuring of Sri Lanka from the presidential system of government, which has existed since 1978, to a parliamentary system of government . With the 19th amendment to the constitution of Sri Lanka, which came into force in 2015, essential powers that previously rested with the president were transferred to parliament. The new president also sought gestures of reconciliation with the Tamil minority. A "government of national unity" was formed under Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe (UNP). The announced reform program stalled after a while, and the government was not able to properly implement the election campaign promise to stimulate economic growth.

Foundation of the SLPP and constitutional crisis in 2018

In 2016, the majority of the Rajapaksa supporters left the SLFP and formed a new party, Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP, “Popular Front of Sri Lanka”). The party quickly advanced in favor of voters, especially among the Sinhalese population, and won almost 45 percent of the vote in the local elections in February 2018, making it the strongest force.

In June 2018, there was an open dispute between President Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe (UNP). Sirisena fired Wickremesinghe and, to the amazement of many, appointed his old adversary Mahinda Rajapaksa prime minister. However, Rajapaksa failed to get a vote of confidence from parliament. Sirisena then ordered new elections and declared the dissolution of parliament. The released Wickremesinghe sued the Sri Lankan Supreme Court because the president exceeded his powers and the court ruled in his favor. Rajapaksa then resigned and Wickremesinghe was reinstated as prime minister in December 2018. Sirisena later described the 19th Amendment to the Constitution as the “biggest mistake” of his presidency, as it had led to political instability.

Islamist bomb attack on Easter Sunday 2019

On Easter Sunday, April 21, 2019, a series of bomb attacks occurred in or near the capital Colombo , in which 253 people were killed and another 485 were injured. The attacks were carried out by Islamist terrorists and targeted three churches of the Christian community in Sri Lanka and three tourist hotels. The attacks were the worst since the end of the civil war and highlighted the ongoing complex tensions between the various ethnic and religious groups in Sri Lanka. The government declared a state of emergency, expelled a total of around 600 foreigners, including 200 Islamic clerics from Bangladesh, India, the Maldives and Pakistan, and imposed a ban on veiling . The Sri Lankan tourism industry suffered heavy losses as a result of the attacks. In the aftermath of events, the differences between the Prime Minister and the President became clear again when the latter indirectly accused the government of failing and failing to assess the security situation.

Candidates

Nominations

On April 26, 2019, Gotabaya Rajapaksa , Mahinda Rajapaksa's younger brother and ex-defense minister, announced his candidacy. On August 11, 2019, the SLPP, led by his brother Mahinda, proclaimed Gotabaya Rajapaksa as its official candidate. Mahinda Rajapaksa himself stated that he would seek the office of prime minister in next year's general election . On October 18, 2019, the Ceylon Workers' Congress , a small interest party of the Indian Tamils , signed an agreement with the SLPP in support of the candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa.

On February 1, 2019, Sirisena was proposed as an SLFP presidential candidate at an SLFP conference in Anuradhapura. In the months that followed, other SLFP politicians voted for Sirisena as candidates. This initially covered himself with a statement about a candidacy, but at the beginning of October 2019 finally decided not to run again. Thereupon the SLFP party leadership spoke out in support of the candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa. It was the first time in a presidential election that the SLFP did not enter the race with its own candidate. Anura Kumara Dissanayake , the party leader of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), was nominated on August 18, 2019 as the official candidate of the JVP-led party alliance National (Movement for) People's Power (Sinhala Jathika Janabala Peramuna ). It was the first time since the 1999 election that the JVP sent its own candidate into the field. The selection of candidates in the UNP took a long time. Various leaders have shown interest, including Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and Vice Prime Minister Sajith Premadasa . On September 25, 2019, Wickremesinghe publicly renounced his candidacy in favor of Premadasa. The latter was unanimously chosen as the UNP's presidential candidate at a meeting of the UNP governing bodies on October 3, 2019.

The largest Sri Lankan Tamil party association , the Tamil National Alliance (TNA), said that in view of a candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa it had no alternative to supporting the opposing candidate Sajith Premadasa. However, the TNA politicians also set conditions for their support (clearance of the land in north-east Sri Lanka, which is still partly seized by the military, greater autonomy for the Tamil areas, etc.).

The official nominations could be submitted to the Sri Lankan Electoral Commission on October 7, 2019 between 9 a.m. and 11 a.m. A fee of 50,000 rupees (for party candidates) and 75,000 rupees (for individual candidates) had to be paid beforehand (approx. € 246 and € 369, respectively). A total of 35 nominations (together with the three above-mentioned) were recognized by the electoral commission.

• 

  Sajith Premadasa
  (UNP)

• 

  Gotabaya Rajapaksa
  (SLPP)

• 

  Anura Kumara Dissanayake
  (JVP)

List of candidates on the ballot papers

The following listing shows the candidates in the order they were listed on the ballot, along with the designation of their voting symbol. The voting symbols printed on the ballot papers are intended as an aid to illiterate voters.

No	Candidate name as on the ballot	Party / nominating MP	symbol
1	Aparakke Pungngananda Thero	Abheetha Sapumal Senanayake	dog
2	S. Amarasinghe	Kalanchi Dewage lsuru Chathuranga Gunasena	squirrel
3	ldroos Mohamadhu llfiyas	Muhammad Salif, Muhammad Nasmeer	Soccer
4th	AHM Alavi	Gunarat hna Adikari Mudiyanselage Piyal Dewapriya Gunarathna	car tire
5	Ariyawansa Dissanayaka	Democratic United National Front	Eagle
6th	PM Edirisinghe	Okkoma Wasiyo Okkoma Rajawaru Sanvidanaya	cashbox
7th	Sarath Keerthirathne	Tishan Manjula Wella layer	guitar
8th	Chandrasekara Herath Hitihami Koralalage Samansiri	BMJ Thushara Mendis	Cricket bat
9	Sirithunga Jayasuriya	United Socialist Party	Rickshaw
10	Ajantha De Zoysa	Ruhuna Janatha Alliance	pineapple
11	Aruna De Zoysa	Democratic National Movement	automobile
12	Anura Kumara Dissanayake	National Movement for People's Power	compass
13	Duminda Nagamuwa	Frontline Socialist Party	Sledge hammer
14th	Rohan Pallewatta	Jathika Sangwardhena Peramuna	coconut
15th	Ketagoda Jayantha	Wellawatta Arachchige Dumindu Chathuranga Silva	rhino
16	Saman Perera	Our Power of People Party	flag
17th	Anuruddha Polgampala	Koswattage Kosala Haripriya Perera	helicopter
18th	Warnakulasooriya Milroy Surgeus Fernando	Bandara Lokuge Rohan Udayakantha Fernando	deer
19th	Sajith Premadasa	New Democratic Front	swan
20th	Battaramulle Seelarathana Thero	Jana Setha Peramuna	tractor
21st	Badde Gamage Nandimithra	Nawa Sama Samaja Party	table
22nd	Sarath Manamendra	Nawa Sihala Urumaya	bow and arrow
23	MK Shivajilingam	Sasidaran Anandi	fish
24	MLAM Hezbollah	Mohamed Sahabdeen Mohamed lkram	camel
25th	Gotabaya Rajapaksa	Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna	Flower bud
26th	Namal Rajapaksha	National Unity Alliance	glasses
27	ASP Liyanage	Sri Lanka Labor Party	kangaroo
28	Ashoka Wadigamangawa	Weerawanni Mudiyanselage Sumudu Jayamali Weerawanni	Apple
29	Piyasiri Wijenayake	Wanasinghe Arachchillage Ranjith Wanasinghe	sign
30th	Ajantha Perera	Socialist Party of Sri Lanka	balloon
31	Rajiva Wijesinha	Bandarage Sarath Buddhadasa	owl
32	Pani Wijesiriwardane	Socialist Equality Party	scissors
33	Samaraweera Weerawanni	Kumarasinghe Widanelage Don Natani Padmalatha	Writing board
34	Subbramaniyam Gunarathnam	Our National Front	phone
35	Mahesh Senanayake	National Peoples Party	Lightbulb

Election campaign

Gotabaya Rajapaksa was considered the most promising applicant from the start. He announced the fight against Islamism in Sri Lanka as a focus of his future activities. On October 15, 2019, Rajapaksa said that if elected, he would not recognize the 2015 agreement that the Wickremesinghe government had concluded with the UN Human Rights Council on the legal processing of human rights crimes during the civil war . As president, he will also give amnesty to members of the armed forces who are detained for human rights abuses. One must draw a line under the past and turn to the tasks of the present. The resurgence of the Rajapaksa family clan in Sri Lankan politics has been viewed with concern by many liberal observers in Sri Lanka and abroad. In an analysis by the Brookings Institution in Washington, DC , it was said, for example, that the appointment of a Rajapaksa family member to the office of president and / or prime minister would mean a social step backwards towards authoritarianism . The liberalization and democratization initiated under Sirisena, and Sri Lanka's foreign policy turning to neighboring India and the West (when turning away from the People's Republic of China) could then be scaled back.

The New Democratic Front , a coalition of parties led by the UNP, opened its election campaign with a large rally on October 10, 2019. Top candidate Premadasa also focused on the issue of internal security and announced that in the event of an election victory, ex-General Sarath Fonseka would do so with him To supervise the field of activity. Premadasa promised to significantly improve housing conditions in Sri Lanka by 2025 ( “shelter for all by 2025” ) and to fight poverty. His 20-point election manifesto, published on October 31, 2019, focused on social improvements (affordable housing, training, public transport, etc.).

On October 5, 2019, a televised debate of the top candidates took place for the first time in Sri Lanka's history. Gotabaya Rajapaksa did not attend.

Election mode

→ Main article : Elections in Sri Lanka

The election takes place after instant runoff voting , i. H. the voter has the option of placing up to three candidates in sequence on the voting slip. If none of the candidates placed first on the ballot papers achieve the majority in the first count, the candidate with the fewest first placements will be eliminated from all ballot papers. The following candidates all move up one position. Then the first-placed candidates are counted again and the entire process is repeated. This is repeated until a first-placed candidate has an absolute majority. The consequence of this right to vote is that votes for candidates of “subordinate preference” are not completely ignored, but are taken into account, so that It may be that a candidate who does not come first in the first round wins the election. However, this has never been the case in presidential elections in Sri Lanka. All previous elections were won with absolute majorities without having to consider votes of subordinate preference.

Election process

On October 22, 2019, the European Union sent an observer mission to Sri Lanka, whose task it was to observe the course of the election and to prepare a report on it. In a preliminary statement on November 16, 2019, the head of the EU mission, Marisa Matias , summarized the findings and impressions as follows: The election was technically well organized and orderly and the election campaign was largely peaceful and moderate. However, there were shortcomings in the media, where there were imbalances, inciting reporting and disinformation. In addition, both leading parties had used state resources for their campaigns and there was no regulation of campaign funding.

Results

The election results were announced on November 17, 2019.

Nationwide results

candidate	be right	%
Gotabaya Rajapaksa	6,924,255	52.25%
Sajith Premadasa	5,564,239	41.99%
Anura Kumara Dissanayaka	418,553	3.16%
Mahesh Senanayake	49,655	0.37%
MLAM Hezbollah	38,814	0.29%
Ariyawansha Dissanayake	34,537	0.26%
Ajantha Perera	27,572	0.21%
Rohan Pallewatta	25.173	0.19%
S. Amarasinghe	15,285	0.12%
Warnakulasooriya Milroy Surgeus Fernando	13,641	0.10%
MK Shivajilingam	12,256	0.09%
Battaramulle Seelarathana Thero	11,879	0.09%
Ajantha De Zoysa	11,705	0.09%
Anuruddha Polgampala	10,219	0.08%
Namal Rajapaksha	9,497	0.07%
Ketagoda Jayantha	9,467	0.07%
Duminda Nagamuwa	8,219	0.06%
Aparakke Pungngananda Thero	7,611	0.06%
Subbramaniyam Gunarathnam	7,333	0.06%
ASP Liyanage	6,447	0.05%
Piyasiri Wijenayake	4,636	0.03%
Aruna De Zoysa	4,218	0.03%
Rajiva Wijesinha	4.146	0.03%
Idroos Mohamadhu Illiyas	3,987	0.03%
Sirithunga Jayasuriya	3,944	0.03%
Sarath Keerthirathne	3,599	0.03%
Sarath Manamendra	3,380	0.03%
Pani Wijesiriwardane	3,014	0.02%
Ashoka Wadigamangawa	2,924	0.02%
AHM Alavi	2,903	0.02%
Saman Perera	2,368	0.02%
PM Edirisinghe	2.139	0.02%
Samaraweera Weerawanni	2,067	0.02%
Badde Gamage Nandimithra	1,841	0.01%
Chandrasekara Herath Hitihami Koralalage Samansiri	976	0.01%
Valid votes	12.123.452	100.00%
Valid votes	13,252,499 (98.99%)
Invalid votes	135,452 (1.01%)
Votes cast	13,387,951 (83.72%)
Registered voters	15,992,096

Results in the constituencies

The following table shows the official election results by constituency. The electoral districts ( election districts ) are identical to the districts of Sri Lanka , except for Vanni and Jaffna .

Districts with a majority vote for Rajapaksa

Districts with a majority vote for Premadasa

Constituency	Rajapaksa		Premadasa		Dissanayake		Other		electoral participation
	be right	%	be right	%	be right	%	be right	%
Colombo	727.713	53.19	559.921	40.92	53,803	3.93	26,740	1.95	82.82
Gampaha	855.870	59.28	494,671	34.26	61,760	4.28	31,499	2.18	83.31
Kalutara	482.920	59.49	284.213	35.01	27,681	3.41	16,949	2.09	85.71
Mahanuwara	471.502	50.43	417.355	44.64	23,539	2.52	22,479	2.40	84.89
Matale	187.821	55.37	134.291	39.59	8,890	2.62	8,219	2.42	85.30
Nuwara Eliya	175,823	36.87	277.913	58.28	5,891	1.24	17,237	3.61	85.06
bile	466.148	64.26	217,401	29.97	27.006	3.72	14,803	2.04	85.15
Matara	374.481	67.25	149.026	26.76	23,439	4.21	9,922	1.78	85.93
Hambantota	278,804	66.17	108.906	25.85	26,295	6.24	7,369	1.75	87.40
Jaffna	23,261	6.24	312,722	83.86	1,375	0.37	35,555	9.53	68.03
Vanni	26,105	12.27	174,739	82.12	1,156	0.54	10,778	5.07	76.59
Batticaloa	28,460	12.68	238,649	78.70	2,304	0.76	23,808	7.85	77.20
Digamadulla	135.058	32.82	259.673	63.09	7,460	1.81	9,379	2.28	82.32
Trincomalee	54,135	23.39	166.841	72.10	3,730	1.61	6.704	2.90	82.97
Kurunegala	652.278	57.90	416.961	37.01	36,178	3.21	21,193	1.88	85.24
Puttalam	230.760	50.83	199,356	43.91	12,912	2.84	10,948	2.41	76.53
Anuradhapura	342.223	58.97	202.348	34.87	22,879	3.94	12,896	2.22	85.76
Polonnauwa	147,340	53.01	112,473	40.47	12,284	4.42	5,827	2.10	85.92
Badulla	276.211	49.29	251,706	44.92	14,806	2.64	17,622	3.14	86.25
Monaragala	208.814	65.34	92,539	28.95	11,235	3.52	7,016	2.20	88.02
Ratnapura	448.044	59.93	264.503	35.38	18,887	2.53	16,237	2.17	87.11
Kegalle	320.484	55.66	228.032	39.60	15,043	2.61	12,272	2.13	85.89
Overall result	6,924,255	52.25	5,564,239	41.99	418,553	3.16	345,452	2.61	83.72

Cartographic representations

• 

  Majorities after the 22 constituencies (largely identical to the districts of Sri Lanka): majority for Gotabaya Rajapaksa majority for Sajith Premadasa
  
  

• 

  Majorities in the constituencies: Majority for Gotabaya Rajapaksa Majority for Sajith Premadasa
  
  

Assessment and further development

The election results showed the ethnic dividing lines in Sri Lanka. The vast majority of the Sinhalese majority population in the south, center and west of the island voted for Gotabaya Rajapaksa, while the main opposition candidate Premadasa was only elected by a minority of Sinhalese, but by the vast majority of Sri Lankan Tamils ​​and Muslims . The election winner Rajapaksa commented on his election victory with the words: “I knew that I could only win with the votes of the Sinhalese majority. But I called on the Tamils ​​and Muslims to share in my success. Your reaction to this was not what I expected. However, I urge you to join me in building a unified Sri Lanka. ”On November 18th, 2019 Gotabaya Rajapaksa was sworn in as the 8th President of Sri Lanka . On November 20, 2019, the incumbent Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe resigned from his position and the following day the new President appointed his brother Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new Prime Minister.

Web links

Commons : Sri Lanka Presidential Election 2019  - Pictures, Videos and Audio Files Collection

Individual evidence

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22. ↑ Ranil Agrees to give Sajith candidacy. adaderana.lk, September 25, 2019, accessed on October 13, 2019 . 
23. ^ UNP convention on the 3rd of October: Akila Viraj Kariyawasam. newsfirst.lk, September 26, 2019, accessed on October 13, 2019 . 
24. ^ TNA's support will be conditional: E. Saravanapavan. The Suday Morning, September 29, 2019, accessed October 20, 2019 . 
25. ↑ Media Release No 01: Presidential Election - 2019, Receiving Nomination of Candidates, Deposit of Securities and the Polls. (PDF) Sri Lankan Electoral Commission, September 18, 2019, accessed on October 13, 2019 . 
26. ↑ ^{a b} Media Release No 29. (PDF) Sri Lanka's Electoral Commission, October 10, 2019, accessed on October 18, 2019 (English). 
27. ^ ART I: SECTION (I) - GENERAL: Government Notifications: Presidential Elections Act No. 15 of 1981 . In: The Gazette of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka . No. 2044/7 , October 7, 2019 (English, pdf - list of permitted election symbols).
28. ↑ Krishan Francis: Sri Lanka Presidential Hopeful Says Won't Honor Deal with UN. The Diplomat, October 15, 2019, accessed October 18, 2019 . 
29. ↑ Jeffrey Feltman: Sri Lanka's presidential elections: Progress, regression, or paralysis? Bookings Institution, April 2019, accessed October 13, 2019 . 
30. ^ Inaugural rally of New Democratic Front today. newsfirst.lk, October 10, 2019, accessed on October 19, 2019 . 
31. ^ Sarath Fonseka to be entrusted with country's national security: Sajith Premadasa. Sunday Times (Sri Lanka), October 10, 2019, accessed October 19, 2019 . 
32. ↑ Shihar Aneez, Ranga Sirilal: Sri Lanka housing minister vows to tap wartime army chief if elected president. Reuters, October 10, 2019, accessed October 19, 2019 . 
33. ↑ Presidential candidate Sajith Premadasa launches election manifesto. Colombopage.com, October 31, 2019, accessed November 1, 2019 . 
34. ↑ Sri Lanka holds first ever presidential debate. Colombopage.com, October 5, 2019, accessed October 19, 2019 . 
35. ↑ 1978 Constitution. Parliament of Sri Lanka, accessed January 31, 2015 . 
36. ↑ EU deploys Election Observation Mission to Sri Lanka. Newsfirst.lk, October 22, 2019, accessed on October 23, 2019 . 
37. ↑ Preliminary statement on November 16 presidential election: EU election observation mission to Sri Lanka 2019. EEAS (EU External Action), November 19, 2019, accessed on December 19, 2019 . 
38. ↑ Latest Result. Department of Government Information, accessed November 17, 2019 . 
39. ↑ Sri Lanka's Gotabaya Rajapaksa sworn in as new president. France24, November 18, 2019, accessed November 18, 2019 . 
40. ↑ Sri Lanka's new president picks brother Mahinda Rajapaksa as PM. al Jazeera, November 20, 2019, accessed November 21, 2019 . 
41. ^ Mahinda Rajapaksa sworn in as new Prime Minister of Sri Lanka. Colombo Page, November 21, 2019, accessed November 21, 2019 .