At stake in this election:       

• The office of President of Sri Lanka

Description of government structure:

• Chief of State: President Mahinda Percy RAJAPAKSA (since 19 November 2005) *
• Head of Government: Prime Minister Dissanayaka Mudiyanselage JAYARATNE (since 21 April 2010)
• Assembly: Sri Lanka has a unicameral Parliament with 225 seats. **

*The president is both chief of state and head of government.

** Under the contingent vote system, voters may rank up to three candidates. If no candidate wins a majority in the first round of counting, ballots whose first ranking are eliminated candidates are redistributed to the next-ranked candidates on those ballots. The winner is the candidate with the most votes after this second round of counting.

Description of electoral system:

• The President is elected through a contingent vote system to serve a 6-year term.
• The Prime Minister is largely a ceremonial role.
• In the Parliament 225 members are elected by open list proportional representation in multi-member constituencies to serve 6-year terms. *

* Parties must clear a threshold of one-eighth of votes to win seats in the respective constituency. Each voter may cast three preference votes.

Election Note:

On Thursday 8 January 2014, Sri Lanka will hold an election for president.[i] The election was moved up by almost two years.

Main candidates in the electoral race:

• Candidate: Mahinda Percy RAJAPAKSA
  • Party: United People's Freedom Alliance
• Candidate: Maithripala SIRISENA
  • Party: New Democratic Front (NDF)
• Candidate: Wilmal GEEGANAGE
  • Party: Sri Lanka National Front
• Candidate: Aithurus M. ILLIAS
  • Party: Independent
• Candidate: Siritunga JAYASURIYA
  • Party: United Socialist Party
• Candidate: JAYANTHA KULATHUNGA
  • Party: United Lanka Great Council
• Candidate: A.S.P. LIYANAGE
  • Party: Sri Lanka Labour Party
• Candidate: Sundaram MAHENDRAN
  • Party: Nava Sama Samaja Party
• Candidate: Sarath MANAMENDRA
  • Party: New Sinhala Heritage
• Candidate: Maulawi Ibrahim Mohanmed MISHLAR
  • Party: United Peace Front
• Candidate: Duminda NAGAMUWA
  • Party: Frontline Socialist Party
• Candidate: Ruwanthileke PEDURU
  • Party: United Lanka People’s Party
• Candidate: Anurudha POLGAMPOLA
  • Party: Independent
• Candidate: Prasanna PRIYANKARA
  • Party: Democratic National Movement
• Candidate: Namal Ajith RAJAPAKSA
  • Party: Our National Front
• Candidate: Battarmulle SEELARATHANA
  • Party: Jana Setha Peramuna
• Candidate: Ratnayake Arachchige SIRISENA
  • Party: Patriotic National Front
• Candidate: Muthu Bandara THEMINIMULLA
  • Party: All Are Citizens, All Are Kings Organization
• Candidate: Pani WIJESIRIWARDENE
  • Party: Socialist Equality Party

Last election:

• The last election for the office of president in Sri Lanka was held on 26 January 2010.[ii] Turnout was 74.50 percent and 10,495,451 of 14,088,500 people casted ballots.[iii] Mahinda Percy RAJAPAKSA of the United People’s Freedom Alliance won 57.88 percent or 6,015,934 votes, while his opponent, Sarath FONSEKA of the New Democratic Front, won 40.15 percent or 4,173,185 votes.[iv] Results can be found here.

Population and number of registered voters:

• Population: 21,866,445 (July 2014 est)[v]
• Registered Voters: 15,044,490 (November 2014)[vi]

Gender Data:

• Female Population: 11,172,825 (July 2014 est)[vii]
• Is Sri Lanka a signatory to CEDAW: Yes (17 July 1980).[viii]
• Has Sri Lanka ratified CEDAW: Yes (5 October 1981)[ix]
• Gender Quota:  No.[x]
• Female Candidates in this election: 0
• Number of Female Legislators: 13 (6%) of 225 seats in Sri Lanka’s Parliament.[xi]
• Human Development Index (HDI) Position: 73.[xii]
• Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI) Categorization: Medium (latest categorizations are from 2014)[xiii]