1994 Sri Lankan presidential election

Background

President Ranasinghe Premadasa was assassinated on 1 May 1993 by the LTTE and was succeeded by Prime Minister Dingiri Banda Wijetunga. Under the Constitution, a President who assumed office to fill a vacancy could not call an early presidential election. Consequently, the next presidential election was scheduled between 2 November and 2 December 1994. In August 1994, Wijetunga dissolved Parliament and called a snap general election. The People's Alliance, led by Chandrika Kumaratunga, won a parliamentary majority, and Kumaratunga was sworn in as Prime Minister on 19 August 1994.

Nominations

Nominations for the presidential election were accepted on 7 October 1994, and the election date was officially announced via Gazette Extraordinary No. 839/9 on 26 October 1994.

United National Party

Hema Premadasa, the former First Lady, attempted to contest the presidency in 1994 but withdrew after facing organized political harassment and negative propaganda by opposition parties.

President Wijetunga chose not to contest the election. The UNP initially selected Gamini Dissanayake as its candidate.

People's Alliance

The People's Alliance officially nominated Chandrika Kumaratunga as its presidential candidate.

Campaign

The campaign initially involved active competition between the UNP and the People's Alliance.

Assassination

On 24 October 1994, Gamini Dissanayake was killed in a suicide bombing carried out by the LTTE, which also caused civilian casualties. Following this event, security measures were heightened nationwide, and the UNP replaced him with his wife, Srima Dissanayake.

Security measures were heightened nationwide in response to the attack.

Results

Kumaratunga won the election by a record margin with 62.28% of the vote.

She became the first female President of Sri Lanka and was inaugurated at the Presidential Secretariat in Colombo on 12 November 1994.

Electoral Results

Map

References

References

1. "THIRD AMENDMENT TO THE CONSTITUTION".
2. AP Archive. (2015-07-21). "Sri Lanka - New Prime Minister Sworn In".
3. "Wayback Machine".
4. De Mel, Neloufer. (2002). "Women & the Nation's Narrative: Gender and Nationalism in the Twentieth Century Sri Lanka". Rowman & Littlefield Publishers.
5. (7 May 1993). "Premadasa's Widow Indicates She May Seek Political Office". Santa Ana Orange County Register.
6. (13 March 2007). "Why Lankan Women Shun Politics". Hindustan Times.
7. (24 October 1994). "Sri Lanka election aftermath". UPI.
8. "Assassination of Gamini Dissanayake".
9. "Results of past presidential elections in Sri Lanka". People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections.
10. AP Archive. (2015-07-21). "SRI LANKA - NEW PRESIDENT SWORN IN".