1970 Ceylonese parliamentary election

1970 Ceylonese parliamentary election

27 May 1970
151 seats in the House of Representatives of Ceylon 76 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Sirimavo Bandaranaike N. M. Perera Dudley Senanayake Party SLFP LSSP United National Party Alliance United Front United Front – Leader since 1960 1945 1957 Leader's seat Attanagalla Yatiyantota Dedigama Last election 30.18%, 41 seats 7.47%, 10 seats 39.31%, 66 seats Seats won 91 19 17 Seat change 50 9 49 Popular vote 1,839,979 433,224 1,892,525 Percentage 36.86% 8.68% 37.91%
Prime Minister before election Dudley Senanayake United National Party Prime Minister-designate Sirimavo Bandaranaike Sri Lanka Freedom Party United Front

Parliamentary elections were held in Ceylon in 1970.

Background

SLFP leader Sirimavo Bandaranaike had come to the conclusion that her party's best hope of power was forming a permanent alliance with Ceylon's Marxist parties. She assembled the SLFP, the Trotskyist LSSP, and the Communists into the United Front coalition. The UF's platform was called the Common Programme; it featured extensive nationalization, a non-aligned foreign policy, expanded social programmes, and replacement of the British-imposed, monarchical Soulbury constitution with a republican constitution.

The UNP government of Dudley Senanayake had not made much headway with Ceylon's twin problems of inflation and unemployment, nor had it attempted solving the linked problems of feudal property relations and adverse terms of trade by agrarian reform and industrialisation. The UNP had become widely perceived as a party of the rich, out of touch with the concerns of ordinary people. The UF's socialist platform had much greater appeal.

Results

The UF (with 49% of the vote) won an overwhelming majority, despite the UNP's plurality of the popular vote, due to the member parties running in different constituencies. The Tamil majority constituencies voted mainly for the two Tamil parties, one of which (the All Ceylon Tamil Congress), later joined the UF.

The 1970 election was the last held under the Soulbury constitution. The UF Government established the free, sovereign and independent Republic of Sri Lanka in 1972, breaking the last ties of colonialism.

The British-owned plantations were nationalised and there was land reform - giving poor rural people land. Industrial democracy was instituted in the transport and manufacturing sectors. A National pharmaceuticals policy was established, allowing for affordable drugs. A new education policy was followed, aimed at making education more relevant.

Increased protection led to growth in the manufacturing sector, particularly in textiles and garments, electronics and industrial machinery.