Mannar Electoral District was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between August 1947 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Mannar in Mannar District, Northern Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the proportional representation electoral system for electing members of Parliament. The existing 160 mainly single-member electoral districts were replaced with 22 multi-member electoral districts. Mannar electoral district was replaced by the Vanni multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections, the first under the PR system, though Mannar continues to be a polling division of the multi-member electoral district.
Members of Parliament Key
ElectionMemberPartyTerm 1947C. SittampalamIndependent 1947-1952 1952 1952-1956 1956V. A. AlegaconeIllankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi 1956-1960 1960 (March) 1960-1960 1960 (July) 1960-1965 1965 1965-1970 1970 1970-1977 1974 S. A. Raheem United National Party 1970-1977 1977 P. S. Soosaithasan Tamil United Liberation Front 1977-1989
Elections 1947 Parliamentary General Election Results of the 1st parliamentary election held between 23 August 1947 and 20 September 1947:
CandidatePartySymbolVotes% C. SittampalamIndependentKey5,87759.97% J. TyagarajaUnited National PartyUmbrella3,38134.50% S. ViraspillaiIndependentHand5425.53%Valid Votes9,800100.00%Rejected Votes71Total Polled9,871Registered Electors14,587Turnout67.67%
1952 Parliamentary General Election Results of the 2nd parliamentary election held between 24 May 1952 and 30 May 1952:
CandidatePartySymbolVotes% C. SittampalamIndependentKey5,87652.62% V. A. AlegaconeIndependentStar5,29047.38%Valid Votes11,166100.00%Rejected Votes113Total Polled11,279Registered Electors14,959Turnout75.40%
1956 Parliamentary General Election Results of the 3rd parliamentary election held between 5 April 1956 and 10 April 1956:
CandidatePartySymbolVotes% V. A. AlegaconeIllankai Tamil Arasu KachchiAlso known as the Federal PartyHouse6,72653.12% Sir Kanthiah VaithianathanUmbrella4,85738.36% C. SittampalamIndependentBicycle1,0788.51%Valid Votes12,661100.00%Rejected Votes105Total Polled12,766Registered Electors15,819Turnout80.70%
1960 (March) Parliamentary General Election Results of the 4th parliamentary election held on 19 March 1960:
CandidatePartySymbolVotes% V. A. AlegaconeIllankai Tamil Arasu KachchiHouse6,46347.37% S. H. MohamedIndependentPot4,58733.62% Sabamalai John MarkCockerel2,15515.79% N. M. Abdul CaffoorPair of Spectacles4403.22%Valid Votes13,645100.00%Rejected Votes126Total Polled13,771Registered Electors16,936Turnout81.31%
1960 (July) Parliamentary General Election Results of the 5th parliamentary election held on 20 July 1960:
CandidatePartySymbolVotes% V. A. AlegaconeIllankai Tamil Arasu KachchiHouse7,30755.79% S. H. MohamedUnited National PartyElephant5,79044.21%Valid Votes13,097100.00%Rejected Votes72Total Polled13,169Registered Electors16,936Turnout77.76%
1965 Parliamentary General Election Results of the 6th parliamentary election held on 22 March 1965:
CandidatePartySymbolVotes% V. A. AlegaconeIllankai Tamil Arasu KachchiHouse6,89639.52% M. S. Abdul RaheemIndependentUmbrella6,04034.61% Sabamalai John MarkPair of Spectacles4,51425.87%Valid Votes17,450100.00%Rejected Votes121Total Polled17,571Registered Electors21,418Turnout82.04%
1970 Parliamentary General Election Results of the 7th parliamentary election held on 27 May 1970:
CandidatePartySymbolVotes% V. A. AlegaconeIllankai Tamil Arasu KachchiHouse10,69748.98% S. A. RaheemUnited National PartyElephant10,62848.67% N. M. Abdul CaderSri Lanka Freedom PartyHand5132.35%Valid Votes21,838100.00%Rejected Votes127Total Polled21,965Registered Electors25,441Turnout86.34%
V. A. Alegacone died on 25 November 1973.
1974 Parliamentary by-Election Results of the parliamentary by-election held on 25 February 1974:
CandidatePartySymbolVotes% S. A. RaheemUnited National PartyElephant12,97449.05% S. M. Johan MarkIllankai Tamil Arasu KachchiHouse12,89948.77% S. A. CaderIndependentSun4691.77% S. Percy Emmanuellamp1080.41%Valid Votes26,450100%Rejected Votes130Total Polled26,580Registered Electors29,596Turnout89.81%
1977 Parliamentary General Election Results of the 8th parliamentary election held on 21 July 1977:
CandidatePartySymbolVotes% P. S. SoosaithasanTamil United Liberation FrontSun15,14151.58% M. S. Abdul RaheemUnited National PartyElephant12,92944.05% Sabamalai John MarkIndependentLamp6632.26% H. S. DawoodHand4781.63% M. KanthasamyPair of Scales1410.48%Valid Votes29,352100.00%Rejected Votes84Total Polled29,436Registered Electors31,767Turnout92.66%
P. S. Soosaithasan and all other TULF MPs boycotted Parliament from the middle of 1983 for a number of reasons: they were under pressure from Sri Lankan Tamil militants not to stay in Parliament beyond their normal six-year term; the Sixth Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka required them to swear an oath unconditionally renouncing support for a separate state; and the Black July riots in which up to 3,000 Tamils were murdered by Sinhalese mobs. After three months of absence, Soosaithasan forfeited his seat in Parliament on 22 October 1983.
References & footnotes