History of representative system of government runs back to the 19th Century. Although the elections were not prominent during the British times an election was held to elect members of the Colombo Municipal Council under the Colombo Municipal Council Order-in-Council No 17 of 1865. With the recommendation of the Crewe McCallum constitutional reforms with limited voting right, people of this country received right to elect 4 members to the Legislative Council in the year 1911 by a limited voting system. That is how people of this country embarked upon electing representatives to the Legislative Council. Crewe McCallum reforms increased the number of members of the Legislative Council to 21 i.e. 11 members official and 10 non-official. Out of these 10 non-official members 4 members were elected under a limited system of voting in 1911 to represent in the Legislative Council i.e. 2 for rural and urban Europeans, 1 for Burghers and 1 for Ceylonese.

Under the Colebrook Commission there were 9 official and 06 non-official members, total being 15 members in the Legislative Council. But none of them were elected by vote. They were nominated by the Governor i.e. 3 non-official European members, 1 Sinhalese, 1 Tamil and 1 Burgher.

There were 37 members in the Legislative Council under the Manning-Devonshire reforms i.e. 14 official and 23 non-official. Five (5) members out of non-officials, were elected on the electoral basis.

Under the Order-in-Council 1923 there were 49 members in the Legislative Council with 12 officials and 37 non official.

This shows that there had been 3 elections during the period 1910 and 1930 under 3 constitutional Orders-in-Council i.e.

1. Legislative Order-in Council 1910

2. Ceylon (State Council) Order-in-Council 1920

3. Ceylon (State Council) Order-in-Council 1923  

In these elections, those candidates who secured majority of votes were returned.

There was no Delimitation Commission to determine the boundaries of electorates as is done today. It is the following methodology that had been used without considering the extent of land or the numbers of population.

1. Administrative demarcations

    Eg. -  existing revenue provinces or revenue districts.

2. Dividing on the basis of communities

    Eg -  European (rural) European (Urban), Burgher etc.

3. Sinhalese and Tamil divisions (at latter stages).

4. Occupation

    Eg - Members of Chambers of Commerce /Members of production companies.

Following had been the qualifications to become electors

1. Nationality: This had been a qualification because the electorates were divided according to the nationality.

2. Knowledge of language: Having knowledge in the English Language.

3. Residence: Residence qualification was 6 months of residence in the particular place during the period of one year prior to the 1st of June of the year concerned.

4. Income and assets: Annual income should be Rs 600.00 and owner of a property of Rs 1,500.00.

It is important that there were disqualifications as well, to become an elector. Those who were under the age of 21 year, or being a female, or of unsound mental state, or had served a prison sentence, or had been sentenced to death were not qualified to be electors.

Qualifications for candidates:

Being registered as an elector alone was not sufficient to become a candidate. He should be free of disqualifications, as well. The period of residence should be three years. If he had served a prison sentence, the period of sentence should not exceed 3 years. He should not be below 25 years of age. Candidate should not be a public servant or should not have been discontinued from Public Service. Income was considered under the section 13(2) of the Ordinance of 1920.

Registration of electors had been done as is done today. Registering officers were appointed by the Governor, the head of administration of the country. The registering officers prepared the electoral register. Government Agents, Assistant Government Agents and Revenue Officers were among those appointed as registering officers.

Administration and management of all these functions were under the control of the Governor’s directives. Returning Officers, Presiding Officers and other staff required for an election were appointed by him. Registration officers enumerated the voters. Returning Officers conducted elections, declared results and carried out all related matters. It is important to note that there were also provisions related to election offences and malpractices.

Under the Donoughmore Commission the State Council was introduced by the Ceylon (State Council) Order in Council of 1931. Two elections were conducted in 1931 and 1936 respectively to elect members. Next election due, was not held due to the World War II. This resulted in extending the term of the State Council for 11 years.

A Delimitation Commission was appointed by the Governor in the year 1930. This Commission divided the country into 50 electorates on the basis of provinces. One member each was elected for a population between 100,000 to 125,000. The 50 electorates were determined in the following manner.

Even under the Donoughmore Reforms, Registering Officers were appointed by the Governor and registration of electors was carried out. With Donoughmore Reforms both males and females over the age of 21 years were granted the Universal Franchise. Universal Franchise was that the all electors who have passed the prescribed years of age and those who were not subject to any disqualification, received voting right without distinction. New legislation and management arrangements were introduced. The electoral process was operated by the Returning officers under the instructions and orders of the Governor as was done hitherto.

There were no party symbols in the ballot papers in the elections held in 1931 and 1936. Instead, the ballot boxes of various colours according to the preference of candidates were provided for the voters to drop the marked ballot papers. The special feature here was that the voters were enabled to express their preference by depositing the ballot papers in the boxes of the candidates of their choice. Removal of the qualification of education of voters, enabled a massive number of electors who reached the age of 21 years to cast vote irrespective of their level of literacy, and it was a great advantage for the voters.

After enacting the Ceylon (Parliamentary Elections) Order in Council of 1946 and the Local Authorities Elections Ordinance 1946 the Parliamentary Elections Department was established under the Commissioner. To conduct elections for local authorities (local bodies) another department was established under another Commissioner. In this manner from 1947 to October two separate departments functioned under two Commissioners. function to conduct parliamentary elections and local authorities elections respectively. Accordingly, the first Parliamentary election was held in 1947 and the second in the year 1952. The Department of Local Authorities Elections were conducted during the respective time periods

The Department of Elections was established on October 01,1955. Here the two departments i.e. Department Parliamentary Elections and the Department of Local Authorities Elections were amalgamated. The head of the Department of Elections was the Commissioner of Elections.

In current terms the vision and the responsibility of the Department of Elections is to conduct free and fair elections and referenda in order to secure sovereignty and democracy and prepare the electoral register for the purpose. In order to perform this duty special kind of freedom which was not available to any government institution had been conferred upon the Department of Elections.

The independence of the Department of Elections, a status which was not available to any other government institution, was demonstrated by the facts, such as, that it did not come under any government ministry, officers of the department could not be transferred out or transferred in without the consent of the Commissioner of Elections, freedom of the Commissioner of Elections to function independently and non-interference by any external institution with the Department of Elections. The Commissioner of Elections was answerable only to the judiciary.

In the circumstances, the major functions of the Department were the conducting of free and fair elections, registration of all eligible electors in the electoral register, taking action to prevent ineligible persons to enter into the register and secure the franchise of the people to enable the voter to exercise his vote independently

Furthermore, the Department of Elections is statutorily bound to conduct Presidential elections, Parliamentary elections, Referenda where the opinion of the people is directly required, Local Authorities elections, freely and fairly with integrity.

In summary, the role of the direct Department of Elections is as follows.

(a)   Preparation of the annual electoral register

(b)   At the national level

          1. Presidential Election

          2. Parliamentary Elections

          3. Referenda

(c)At the provincial level and local level

          1. Provincial Councils Elections

          2. Municipal Councils, Urban Councils and Pradeshiya Sabha elections

Legal provisions in regard to the taking of polls in each electorate and conducting of all elections in general, are provided in the Constitution in addition to the various special Acts for all elections and taking polls. They are as follows.

 I.   Parliamentary Elections No 1 of 1981

 II.  Referendum Act No 7 of o 1981

 III. Presidential Elections Act No 15 of 1981Elections Act

 IV.  Local Authorities Act No 2 of 1988 and amendments thereto

 V.   Pradeshiya Sabha Act of 1980

 VI.  Local Authorities Elections Ordinance (Cap262) and amendments thereto

VII. Registration of Electors Act No 44 of 1080 and amendments thereto facilitated all the elections by registering qualified voters.       

In addition to the above Elections Acts an election was held on 04.06.1981 to elect members to 24 Development Councils established with the Gazette Extraordinary No 133/7 of 25.03.1981 in terms of the Development Councils Act No 35 of 1980.

Legal authorities vested by respective Acts to conduct elections. Provisions are made to receive nomination papers, operate the electoral process, prevent election offences and illegal practices under the directions of the Commissioner of Elections.

Legal provisions prevalent at the time of the establishment of the Department of Elections in 1955, elections that are to be conducted, methodologies relevant to conduct elections, administration procedures have now changed. Six (6) Commissioners of Elections were in office from the inception to the date of establishing the Election Commission.

First Election Commission from 17.11.2015 to 02.12.2020

The First Election Commission consisted of three (3) members and one member had to be appointed as Chairman. Mr Mahinda Deshapriya, the former Commissioner of Elections, Mr Nalin J Abesekera PC and Prof Ratnajivan Hoole were appointed to the Commission under the recommendation of the Constitutional Council. Out of the three members , Mr Mahinda Deshapriya the former Commissioner of Elections was appointed as the Chairman. The inaugural meeting of the Commission was held at the Elections Secretariat on 17.11.2025 with the participation of all members.

The first Election Commission a Participatory Strategic Plan (PSP) for the Commission; conducted the Presidential Election 2019; the Parliamentary Election 2020, amidst the Covid 19 pandemic and took steps to amend many a law related to the elections and polls during its tenure.

Second Election Commission from 03.12.2020 to 27.06.2023

Composition of the Second Election Commission appointed on 03.12.2020in terms of the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka was as follows.

1. *
   Mr Nimal G Punchihewa (Chairman)
2. *
   Mr S B Divaratne (Member)
3. *
   Mr M M Mohammed (Member)
4. *
   Mr K P P Pathirane (Member)
5. *
   Mr Jeevan Thiagarajah (Member)

Mr Jeevan Thiagarajah was appointed as the Governor of the Northern Province on 28.10.2021 and Mrs P S M Charles was appointed on 28.10.2021 to replace him.

This Commission took substantial steps to amend the laws pertaining to the registration of electors over the age of 18 years; registration of electors as they reach the age of 18 years and regulation of election expenditure.

Election Commission from (05.07.2023 todate)

In terms of the Twentieth Amendment to the Constitution the number of members was increased to five according to the Article 103 (10) of the Constitution. The quorum of the Commission was three under the Article 104 of the Constitution. HE the President appointed the Third Election Commission with the following three members in terms of the Article 103 (1) of the Constitution with the recommendation of the Constitutioal Council on 28.06.2023.

1. *
   Mr R M A L Ratnayake (Chairman)
2. *
   Mr M A P C Perera (Member)
3. *
   Mr Amir Faiz (Member)

Accordingly, the Third Election Commission commenced functioning on 05.07.2023 after reporting for duties.

Consequent to the above appointments HE the President appointed Ms A Shanmuganathan and Mr D M S S L Disanayake on 01.09.2023 and 10.10.2024 respectively in terms of the powers vested with him by the Constitution.

Mr. A. Arulpragasam -  1955.10.01 – 1957.03.06

Mr A. Arulpragasam was the first Commissioner of Elections. Before getting this appointment he was the Commissioner of Local Authorities Elections. The third Parliamentary election was held during his tenure. Important events during his period were as follows:

1. The Parliamentary Election in 1956. This election was held for three days

2. Introduction of the Electors Enumeration Form (BC Form) to be signed by the householder

3. The electoral register prepared in the alphabetical order was turned to be a register of electors in the order of houses.

Mr E F Dias Abesinghe: 07.03.1957 – 15.03.1978

Mr. E.F. Dias Abeysinghe was appointed to the office of the Commissioner of Elections on 07-03-1957. The vacancy was created  due to the retirement of  Mr. Arulpragasam. Mr. Abeysinghe, who functioned on at the Commissioner for a long period,  retired on 15-03-1978. This  is a period of many notable changes in the Department of Elections. It was a period of introducing  special laws  and new features to the  elections.

It is a singular feature  that the functions of the Department of Elections gradually developed from its commencement.  Accordingly, it is observed that he, as the Head of the Institution,   worked for preparation of the legal foundation required and regularization of election management.

01.  Initiation of the change of conducting Parliamentary Elections to a  one day exercise. (1960 March election) 

The first Parliamentary Election conducted  in the year 1947 was held for 19 days. The second Parliamentary Election in 1952 was concluded in  4 days while the third  Parliamentary Election  1956 was held  for 3 days. Accordingly, the initiation of the conduct the election on a single day is a significant change. All Parliamentary Elections and Referendums conducted from March, 1960  todate have been conducted as one day operations.

02.  Registration of political parties and introduction of the system of recognizing political parties.

03. Dispatching official poll cards to electors. Information of the date of election, polling station, registered serial number and the period for casting vote etc were notified to the elector by these poll cards.

04.  Electors engaged in essential services were enabled to cast vote through the postal voting system.

05.  Conducting five  General Elections and a number of Local Authorities Elections from 1960 upto 1977.

06. Governor General was replaced with a President with the introduction of the Constitution of the Republic of Sri Lanka. The Parliament was replaced with a National State Assembly. The Senate was abolished. With all these changes, the laws rules, and regulations were amended. The term of office of the NSA was increased to 06 years.

Mr. M A Piyasekera 16.03.1978 – 31.01.1982

Mr. M A Piyasekera was an Assistant Commissioner of Elections and was appointed to the position of Commissioner of Elections on 16.03.1978. Significant events during his period were as follows.

1. The enactment of the Republican Constitution of the Government of Sri Lanka, and the introduction of the Presidential Election and Referendum.

2. Introduction of a new system i.e. cast vote for a political party while marking preferences for candidates

3. Enactment of the Development Councils Act No 35 of 1980. This enabled to establish Development Councils at the district level and a poll was taken under this Act.

4. The first Development Councils election was conducted in the year 1981.

After Mr Piyasekera retired from public service two Deputy Commissioners of Elections were appointed as Acting Commissioners of Elections consecutively i.e. Mr L A G Jayasekera from 01.02.1982 to 24.03.1982 and Mr SL Marikkar an Additional Secretary to the President from 25.03.1982 to 03.05.1982.

Mr R K Chandrananda de Silva: 04.05.1982 – 18.02.1995

Mr R K Chandrananda de Silva was appointed to the post of Commissioner of Elections on 04.05.1982. Before getting this appointment, he had been an Assistant Commissioner of Elections in the Department of Elections.

This period of time marked a busy period for the Elections Department. Politically the country faced turbulent atmospheres with a period of terror, where the holding of elections in the country confronted with wearisome states of affairs.

During his period the Department was able to get it established in a new Secretariat of its own, which ended the renting-out buildings and moving from one place to another for its office and staff. Following remarkable features placed the Department in a firm ground during his tenure.

1. The first Referendum under the Referendum Act.

 

2. Enactment of the Pradeshiya Sabha Act N0 15 of 1987 that followed the enactment of laws related to Pradeshiya Sabhas.

 

3. Enactment of the Provincial Councils Act No 42 of 1982 and conducting the first Provincial Councils Election under this Act. The introduction of preference system was introduced with this Provincial Councils Election.

 

4. The first Presidential Election under the Presidential Election Act.

 

5. Passing of the Thirteenth Amendment to the Constitution in Parliament

 

6. Parliamentary General Election 1988 under the proportional and preference systems.

 

7. Conducting the second Provincial Councils Election

 

8. Second Presidential Election.

 

9. Parliamentary General Election 1994.

Mr. Dayananda Dissanayake - 18.02.1995 – 26.03.2011.

Mr. Dayananda Dissanayake was an Assistant Commissioner of Elections from the year 1983 and later was the Deputy Commissioner of Elections who was appointed to the office of the Commissioner of Elections on 18-02-1995. He had served the department continuously for a long spell.

During his period as the Commissioner of Elections a large number of elections were held i.e. Parliamentary Elections 2000 and 2004, Presidential Elections 2005 and 2010 and Provincial Councils and Local Authorities Elections.

Legal provisions were made to establish an Election Commission in place of the Department of Elections by the Seventeenth Amendment to the Constitution. The Constitution made provisions to establish a Commission consisting of 5 members.

Since it was mandatory for the then serving Commissioner of Elections to hold office until the Election Commission was established, he as the incumbent Commissioner of Elections had to remain in office for a long period. This legal requirement was only removed by the Eighteenth Amendment to the Constitution and he retired from service.

Mr Mahinda Deshapriya – 26.03.2011- 16.11.2015.

Mr Mahinda Deshapriya was appointed as the sixth Commissioner of Elections on 26.03.2011. From 1983 to 16.11.2015, he functioned as Assistant Commissioner of Elections, Deputy Commissioner of Elections, Additional Commissioner of Elections and Commissioner of Elections and he happened to be the last Commissioner of Elections of the Department of Elections.

During his tenure in office as Commissioner of Elections, a number of novel features and activities were introduced to the Department of Elections.

1. Violation of election laws and illegal activities were minimized by actively engaging in the prevention of elections offences and illegal activities.

2. Period of time taken to revise the electoral register was reduced from one year to six months

3. A new programme at national and district levels to investigate election complaints was introduced.

4. The date of commencement of the revision of the electoral list was declared as the “Voter’s Day”.

5. Awareness programmes to educate the electors island wide were conducted.

6. Sri Lanka received the ‘Chairmanship’ of the Forum of Election Management Bodies of South Asia (FEMBOSA)

7. The 6oth Anniversary of the Department of Elections was celebrated.

8. A large number of elections i.e., Presidential, Parliamentary, Provincial Councils and Local Authorities were conducted.

Attorney – at – Law Nimal G. Punchihewa - 2020-2023

He graduated with a Bachelor of Laws degree from the University of Colombo in 1976 and sworn in as an Attorney – at – Law in the Supreme Court in 1979. Thereafter Mr. Nimal G. Punchihewa joined the Local Government Service and served as the Secretary of the Kaduwela Village Council. Then he served as the Secretary of Land Rehabilitation Commission after serving as a Member of Co-operative Employees Commission, Chairman of Ceylon Fisheries Corporation, Director of Vocational Training Authority, Vice Chairman of National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority and Project Director, Administration and Financial Director and Additional Secretary (Legal) of Human Rights Commission.

He has published a number of books and articles in the fields of Law and Human Rights and has represented Sri Lanka in various local and foreign workshops and conferences, while contributing to the activities of a number of governmental and non-governmental organizations.

Mr. Punchihewa has served as the Legal Director of the Election Commission from 2016 until he was appointed as the Chairman of the Election Commission and assisted the Election Commission in providing legal advice and actively contributed to the drafting legislation for legal reforms on election and voter registration.

Mr. R.M.A.L. Ratnayake - Chairman, Election Commission

Mr. R.M.A.L. Ratnayake graduated from the University Peradeniya and joined the Sri Lanka Administrative Service in 1985.He served as an Assistant Commissioner of Elections in the Trincomalee, Nuwara Eliya, Puttalam and Kegalle District Elections Offices since 1986. He then worked as a Deputy Commissioner of Elections in the Kurunegala District Elections Office before being appointed as an Additional Commissioner of Elections in the Local Authorities Elections Division in 2011. He later became the first Commissioner General of Elections of the Election Commission and retired as a senior public officer with over 33 years of service in the Department of Elections and the Election Commission