The 2024 General Election marked a resounding success for the National Peoples Power (NPP) led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, setting unprecedented records in Sri Lankas electoral history.The NPP secured 6,863,186 votes, the highest ever obtained by a political party in a basic election, exceeding the 6,853,690 votes won by the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) in 2020.
This also represented a record-breaking 61.56% of the overall vote, overtaking the previous high of 60.33% recorded by the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA) in 2010.
Supremacy in Districts and ConstituenciesThe NPP won 21 of the 22 electoral districts, losing just Batticaloa, breaking the UPFAs 2010 record of success in 19 districts.
The party declared 152 constituencies, shattering the UPFAs 2010 record of 136.
Parliamentary Seats and National List RepresentationThe NPP claimed 159 seats in total, consisting of 141 district-level seats and 18 National List seats, ending up being the first single party under Sri Lankas proportional representation system to secure a two-thirds bulk in Parliament.
This goes beyond the SLPPs 2020 record of 145 overall seats and 17 National List seats.Record-Breaking Preferential VotesVijitha Herath, contesting from Gampaha District, made history by getting 716,715 preferential votes, the greatest ever recorded by a prospect in Sri Lanka.
This eclipsed the previous records set by Ranil Wickremesinghe in 2015 (500,566 votes), Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2020 (527,364 votes), and Harini Amarasuriya earlier in this election with 655,289 votes from Colombo District.Increased Female RepresentationThis election likewise witnessed a milestone in womens representation, with a record 21 female MPs elected, the highest in Sri Lankas parliamentary history.
Among them, 19 represent the NPP, including popular figures such as Dr.
Harini Amarasuriya, Kaushalya Ariyaratne, and Samanmali Gunasinghe.
Two MPs, Rohini Kumari Wijeratne and Chamindrani Kiriella, were elected from the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).
A Historic Leap from the 3% MarkThe NPPs significant rise from securing just 3% of the vote in the previous basic election demonstrates a considerable shift in public sentiment.Also, the NPP was able to mark the very first time in the history of a nation to set such a record rise from the level of 3% in the previous election.