1988 Sri Lankan presidential election

The Sri Lankan presidential election of 1988 was the second presidential election of Sri Lanka. Nominations were accepted on 10 November 1988, and the election was held on 19 December 1988. Electoral participation was 55.32%. Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa of the governing United National Party was elected, receiving 50.4% of all votes cast.

2nd Sri Lankan presidential election
19 December 1988
Turnout55.32%
 
Nominee Ranasinghe Premadasa Sirimavo Bandaranaike
Party United National Party Sri Lanka Freedom Party
Popular vote 2,569,199 2,289,860
Percentage 50.43% 44.95%
Winners of polling divisions. Premadasa in green and Bandaranaike in blue.
President before election

J. R. Jayewardene
United National Party

 Elected President

Ranasinghe Premadasa
United National Party

Background

During the 1988 election, Sri Lanka was in chaos. In the north and east, soldiers of the Indian Peace Keeping Force battled Tamil Tiger rebels. In the south, government death squads engaged in deadly violence with equally brutal militants of the Sinhala-nationalist Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna. Effective campaigning for both the government and opposition was barely possible.

Both of the major party candidates promised to abrogate the Indo-Sri Lanka Accord negotiated by outgoing UNP president J. R. Jayewardene and ask Indian troops to leave the country.

Voting was not held in Tiger-controlled areas of the north and east.

Results

Aided by its control of the state-owned media, the UNP candidate, Prime Minister Ranasinghe Premadasa, won a narrow but firm victory.

Summary of the 1988 Sri Lankan presidential election[1]

 
CandidatePartyVotes%
 Ranasinghe PremadasaUnited National Party2,569,19950.43%
 Sirimavo BandaranaikeSri Lanka Freedom Party2,289,86044.95%
 Oswin AbeygunasekaraSri Lanka People's Party235,7194.63%
Valid Votes5,094,778100.00%
Rejected Votes91,4451.76%
Total Polled5,186,22355.32%
Registered Electors9,375,742

References
  1. "Result of Presidential Election 1988" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2009-03-04. Retrieved 2010-09-03.
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