:1994 Sri Lankan parliamentary election

Democracy in Sri Lanka had seemed doomed as the presidencies of J.R. Jayewardene and Ranasinghe Premadasa arbitrarily banned opposition parties, severely muzzled the media, and routinely used death squads, torture, and kidnappings in the two civil conflicts against the LTTE and JVP. The UNP had simply cancelled the 1983 parliamentary elections; its control of the media led it to victory in the 1988 and 1989 elections.

The population was increasingly tired of war and repression, worn out with jingoistic Sinhalese nationalism, and wanted a return to freedom, peace, and democracy. Chandrika Kumaratunga, leader of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, formed a coalition with small leftist parties called the People's Alliance. This was in some ways a revival of her mother's coalition from the 1970s, but this time campaigning for rapprochement with the Tamils rather than their marginalization.

The PA did not win a majority, but was able to govern with the support of the smaller parties.

{{Election results

|image=File:Sri Lanka Parliament 1994.svg

|seattype1=District|seattype2=National|seattype3=Total

|party1=People's Alliance{{efn|Consisting of the Communist Party of Sri Lanka, the Desha Vimukthi Janatha Party, the Lanka Sama Samaja Party, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party and Sri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya.}}|votes1=3887823|st1t1=91|st2t1=14|st3t1=105

|party2=United National Party{{efn|Including the Ceylon Workers' Congress.}}|votes2=3498370|st1t2=81|st2t2=13|st3t2=94

|party3=Sri Lanka Muslim Congress|votes3=143307|st1t3=6|st2t3=1|st3t3=7

|party4=Tamil United Liberation Front|votes4=132461|st1t4=4|st2t4=1|st3t4=5

|party5=Sri Lanka Progressive Front{{efn|Including the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna.}}|votes5=90078|st1t5=1|st2t5=0|st3t5=1

|party6=Mahajana Eksath Peramuna|votes6=68538|st1t6=0|st2t6=0|st3t6=0

|party7=EROS–PLOTE–TELO{{Efn|Contested as TELO in Ampara District, Batticaloa District, Colombo District and Trincomalee District; as DPLF in Vanni District and as an independent group in Jaffna District.}}|votes7=38028|st1t7=3|st2t7=0|st3t7=3

|party8=Up-Country People's Front{{Efn|Contested as an independent group in Nuwara Eliya District.}}|votes8=27374|st1t8=1|st2t8=0|st3t8=1

|party9=Eelam People's Democratic Party{{Efn|Contested as an independent group in Jaffna District.}}|votes9=10744|st1t9=9|st2t9=0|st3t9=9

|party10=Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front|votes10=9411|st1t10=0|st2t10=0|st3t10=0

|party11=Nava Sama Samaja Party|votes11=2094|st1t11=0|st2t11=0|st3t11=0

|party12=Bahujana Nidahas Peramuna|votes12=813|st1t12=0|st2t12=0|st3t12=0

|party13=Democratic Workers Congress|votes13=589|st1t13=0|st2t13=0|st3t13=0

|party14=Sinhalaye Mahasammatha Bhoomiputra Pakshaya|votes14=267|st1t14=0|st2t14=0|st3t14=0

|party15=Independents|votes15=33809|st1t15=0|st2t15=0|st3t15=0

|invalid=400389

|total_st1t=196|total_st2t=29|total_st3t=225

|electorate=10945065

|source=[http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1994%20GENERAL%20ELECTION-SM01.PDF Electoral Commission]

}}

{{see|Results of the 1994 Sri Lankan general election by province}}

{{see|Results of the 1994 Sri Lankan general election by electoral district}}

{{see|10th Sri Lankan Parliament}}

The 1994 election did not live up to its great hopes. The PA government was unable to come to an agreement with the LTTE, and ended up prosecuting war just as brutally as its UNP predecessor. The Executive Presidency, which Kumaratunga had promised to abolish, remained as powerful as before.

{{notelist}}

{{Reflist}}

• {{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1994%20GENERAL%20ELECTION-SM01.PDF|title=Result of Parliamentary General Election 1994|publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101006015411/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1994%20GENERAL%20ELECTION-SM01.PDF|archive-date=2010-10-06}}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.jpp.co.jp/lanka/gov/govd/govde/gov40e.htm|title=Table 40 Parliament Election (1994)|date=10 February 2009|publisher=Sri Lanka Statistics|access-date=3 October 2010|archive-date=9 October 2011|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111009145605/http://www.jpp.co.jp/lanka/gov/govd/govde/gov40e.htm|url-status=dead}}
• {{cite web|url=http://www.ipu.org/parline-e/reports/arc/2295_94.htm|title= Sri Lanka Parliamentary Chamber: Parliament Elections Held in 1994 |publisher=Inter-Parliamentary Union}}

{{Sri Lankan elections}}

Category:Parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka