Next Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

The next Sri Lankan Parliamentary election is scheduled to be held no later than 21 February 2030. It will determine the Composition of the Parliament of Sri Lanka, which determines the Government of Sri Lanka.

Next Sri Lankan Parliamentary Election

On or Before 21 February 2030
All 225 Seats in the Parliament of Sri Lanka 113 seats needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   ITAK Leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake Sajith Premadasa S. Shritharan Party NPP SJB ITAK Last election 61.56%, 159 Seats 17.66%, 40 Seats 2.31%, 8 Seats
Prime Minister of Sri Lanka before election Harini Amarasuriya Elected Prime Minister of Sri Lanka TBD

Background

The 2024 Parliamentary election resulted in a landslide victory for President Anura Kumara Dissanayake's National People's Power alliance, winning 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 16th 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. Harini Amarasuriya, who was appointed as the prime minister after Dissanayake won 2024 Presidential elections, was re-appointed as prime minister on 18 November 2024 to lead the New Government of Sri Lanka.

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 2020 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 2020 election, winning 3 seats.

Date of the election

Under Article 70 of the Constitution and Section 10 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 1 of 1981, the president of Sri Lanka has the authority to dissolve the Parliament and call fresh elections after two years and six months from its first sitting or upon receiving a resolution from Parliament during the Five-year length of a Parliamentary Session. This signifies that the president will possess the constitutional authority to dissolve parliament by decree, effective from 21 May 2027.

If the president chooses not to do this, then Parliament is automatically dissolved five years after the day it first met, and a Parliamentary election is held within 3 months from the date of the dissolution. The 17th Parliament opened on 21 November 2024, meaning that if an election is not called, Parliament will be automatically dissolved on 21 November 2029, and the latest an election could be held is 21 February 2030.

Electoral system

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 four months of the previous parliament's dissolution.