The 1977 Sri Lankan election heralded the beginning of a new period of Sri Lanka's history - a period of unprecendented violence.

Background

Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike had become extraordinarily unpopular. Her economic policies had failed, leading to rationing, strikes, and high inflation and unemployment. Constitutionally, she had taken advantage of the 1972 constitution to delay the election until 1977, instead of 1975 as would have been the case under the old Soulbury constitution. The government's strong Sinhala nationalist stance had led to violence in the Tamil north; in response, an island-wide state of emergency was imposed, causing hardship to many people. The UF coalition Bandaranaike had built for the 1970 elections had disintegrated. The following is a list of Sri Lankan Prime Ministers: Don Stephen Senanayake (February 4, 1948 - March 26, 1952) Dudley Shelton Senanayake (March 26, 1952 - October 12, 1953) John Lionel Kotalawela (October 12, 1953 - April 12, 1956) Solomon Ridgeway Dias Bandaranaike (April 12, 1956 - September 26, 1959) Vijayananda Dahanayake (September... Sirimavo Ratwatte Dias Bandaranaike (April 17, 1916 - October 10, 2000) was a politician from Sri Lanka. ... The factual accuracy of this article is disputed. ... Nationalism is an ideology that creates and sustains a nation as a concept of a common identity for groups of humans. ... Sri Lankan Tamils also known as Eelam Tamils, Ceylonese or Ceylon Tamils and Jaffna Tamils are today a trans-national minority, and are Tamil people from Sri Lanka. ... A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government, may work to alert citizens to alter their normal behaviors, or may order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. ... The United Front was a polical alliance in Sri Lanka, formed by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP), the Lanka Sama Samaja Party (LSSP) and the Communist Party of Sri Lanka (CPSL) in 1968. ...

By contrast, the United National Party had made a surprising comeback since its 1970 humiliation. Under the leadership of J.R. Jayewardene it had assiduously built up its ground organization. The UNP promised to solve the ethnic problem with a devolution package. Economically, it proposed opening up the Sri Lankan economy again. Constitutionally, the UNP called for replacing the Westminster-based political system with one modelled along French lines. The United National Party (UNP, Sinhalese:(pronounced Eksath Jathika Pakshaya), Tamil: ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி) is a political party in Sri Lanka. ... Junius Richard Jayewardene (September 17, 1906 November 1, 1996) was a Sri Lankan politician. ... For the heavy metal band, see Devolved (band) Devolution or home rule is the granting of powers from central government to government at regional or local level. ... Westminster is a district within the City of Westminster in London. ...

More portentous was the status of the Tamil parties. The old federalist Tamil parties had merged to form the Tamil United Liberation Front, led by Appapillai Amirthalingam, which had gone beyond regional autonomy to openly call for independence of the Tamil-speaking regions of the country. TULF Election Symbol The Tamil United Liberation Front (in Sinhala: Tamil Vimuktasi Peramuna) is a political group in Sri Lanka, which seeks autonomy or independence for the Tamil-populated areas of Sri Lanka, which they call Tamil Eelam. ...

Results

The UNP won the largest landslide in Sri Lankan history. For the first time, a Tamil party won the second-highest number of seats in Parliament and became the Official Opposition. The Parliament of Sri Lanka is a Unicameral 225-member legislature elected by universal suffrage and proportional representation for a six-year term. ... The Parliamentary Opposition is a form of political opposition to a designated government, particularly in a Westminster-based parliamentary system. ...

The 1977 election was the only one ever held under the 1972 constitution.

Elections in Sri Lanka
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Presidential elections 1982 | 1988 | 1994 | 1999 | 2005
Sri Lankan political parties