2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election

2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election

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All 225 seats in the Parliament of Sri Lanka 113 seats needed for a majority
Turnout	75.89% (1.77pp)
First party Second party   Leader Mahinda Rajapaksa Sajith Premadasa Party SLPFA SJB Last election – – Seats won 145 54 Seat change New New Popular vote 6,853,690 2,771,980 Percentage 59.09% 23.90% Swing New New   Third party Fourth party   Leader R. Sampanthan Anura Kumara Dissanayake Party TNA NPP Last election 4.62%, 16 seats 4.87%, 6 seats[a] Seats won 10 3 Seat change 6 3 Popular vote 327,168 445,958 Percentage 2.82% 3.84% Swing 1.80pp 1.03pp
Polling divisions won by ■ – SLPFA ■ – SJB ■ – TNA ■ – SLFP ■ – EPDP ■ – Other parties
Prime Minister before election Mahinda Rajapaksa SLPFA Prime Minister after election Mahinda Rajapaksa SLPFA

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Parliamentary elections were held in Sri Lanka on 5 August 2020 to elect 225 members to Sri Lanka's 16th Parliament.^[1][2][3] 16,263,885 people were eligible to vote in the election, 31.95% of whom were young voters.^[4][5]

The incumbent Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance coalition claimed a landslide victory in the election, winning 145 seats,^[6][7][8] while Samagi Jana Balawegaya won 54 seats, Tamil National Alliance won 10 seats and National People's Power won 3 seats.^[9][10][11] The main opposition United National Party suffered the worst showing in its history following a split over party leadership, finishing in fourth place with only one seat.^[12]

The election was postponed at least twice due to a surge in COVID-19 cases in the country, before the date was finalized as 5 August 2020.^[13][14] Prior to the election, a coronavirus-proof mock election was conducted by the Election Commission in June 2020 as a trial run in order to comply with health guidelines.^[15][16]

Initial reports revealed that the overall voter turnout was estimated at 70%, comparatively less than the turnout of the previous elections, mainly due COVID-19.^[17] Vote counting started on 6 August 2020 at around 9 am.^[18] The new parliament is expected to reconvene on 20 August 2020.^[19][20]

In November 2018, the date was briefly moved forward by more than a year to 5 January 2019 after President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved parliament during a constitutional crisis and called for a snap election.^[21] The Supreme Court later suspended the dissolution and ordered a halt to the snap election, effectively moving the election's date back to 2020.^[22]

The next general election in Sri Lanka is scheduled to be held in 2025; however, the president has the power to dissolve parliament anytime after 2+1⁄2 years according to the constitution.

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