The first election to the

State Council of Ceylon The State Council of Ceylon was the unicameral legislature for Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), established in 1931 by the Donoughmore Constitution. The State Council gave universal adult franchise to the people of the colony for the first time. It re ...

were held from 13 to 20 June 1931. This was the first election in a

British colony The British Overseas Territories (BOTs), also known as the United Kingdom Overseas Territories (UKOTs), are fourteen territories with a constitutional and historical link with the United Kingdom. They are the last remnants of the former Bri ...

which used

universal adult franchise Universal suffrage (also called universal franchise, general suffrage, and common suffrage of the common man) gives the right to vote to all adult citizens, regardless of wealth, income, gender, social status, race, ethnicity, or political stanc ...

Background

In 1931 the

Donoughmore Constitution The Donoughmore Constitution ( si, ඩොනමෝර් ආණ්ඩුක්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථාව, translit=Ḍonamōr Āṇḍukrama Vyavasthāva; ta, டொனமூர் அரசியலமைப்பு, translit=Ṭo ...

replaced the

Legislative Council of Ceylon The Legislative Council of Ceylon was the legislative body of Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) established in 1833, along with the Executive Council of Ceylon, on the recommendations of the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission. It was the first form of repre ...

with the State Council of Ceylon as the

legislature A legislature is an assembly with the authority to make laws for a political entity such as a country or city. They are often contrasted with the executive and judicial powers of government. Laws enacted by legislatures are usually known ...

of British Ceylon. The State Council was to consist of 58 members of which 50 would be elected by universal suffrage and the remaining 8 members appointed the

Governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...

. The old Legislative Council was dissolved on 17 April 1931 and candidate nominations took place on 4 May 1931. The

Jaffna Youth Congress The Jaffna Youth Congress, was the first of Sri Lanka's Youth Leagues. It was influenced by the Indian Independence Movement, was secular and committed to Poorana Swaraj (Complete Self-Rule), national unity and the eradication of inequalities ...

, an organisation that campaigned for Ceylon independence, called for a boycott of the election since the Donoughmore Constitution did not grant

dominion The term ''Dominion'' is used to refer to one of several self-governing nations of the British Empire. "Dominion status" was first accorded to Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Newfoundland, South Africa, and the Irish Free State at the 1926 ...

status to Ceylon. Consequently, no nominations were received in four constituencies in the north of the country (Jaffna, Kankesanthurai, Kayts and Point Pedro). In addition, nine other constituencies only had a single nomination each and consequently the candidates were elected without a vote. Elections in the remaining 37 constituencies took place between 13 and 20 June 1931. In 1934

by-election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election ( Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to ...

s were held for the four vacant seats in the north.

Elected members

References

{{Sri Lankan elections Parliamentary elections in Sri Lanka 1931 elections in Asia 1931 in Ceylon Election, 1931 June 1931 events 1931 elections in the British Empire