The Election Commission of Sri Lanka is the constitutional authority responsible for administering and overseeing all

elections An election is a formal group decision-making process by which a population chooses an individual or multiple individuals to hold public office. Elections have been the usual mechanism by which modern representative democracy has opera ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...

, including the Presidential,

Parliamentary A parliamentary system, or parliamentarian democracy, is a system of democratic governance of a state (or subordinate entity) where the executive derives its democratic legitimacy from its ability to command the support ("confidence") of the ...

, Provincial and

Local Authority Local government is a generic term for the lowest tiers of public administration within a particular sovereign state. This particular usage of the word government refers specifically to a level of administration that is both geographically-l ...

elections. Sri Lanka has had universal adult suffrage since 1931, becoming the first

Crown colony A Crown colony or royal colony was a colony administered by The Crown within the British Empire. There was usually a Governor, appointed by the British monarch on the advice of the UK Government, with or without the assistance of a local Council ...

to enfranchise all adult citizens, 3 years after the

United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, commonly known as the United Kingdom (UK) or Britain, is a country in Europe, off the north-western coast of the continental mainland. It comprises England, Scotland, Wales and ...

itself; the country is the oldest democracy in

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

Early history

The recommendations of the Soulbury Commission of 1944 led to the country's 1948 'Soulbury Constitution', granting it independence with

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 within the

British Empire The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...

through the Ceylon Independence Act of 1947. The work of the Commission began in 1944, with several pieces of key legislation being enacted in the interim as a result of its work- of these, the Ceylon (Constitution) Order in Council of 1946 would lead to the 1948 constitution, while the Ceylon (Parliamentary Elections) Order in Council and the Local Authorities Ordinance enacted in the same year created two government departments that would eventually go on to form the Elections Commission. Section 88A of the Ceylon (Parliamentary Elections) Order in Council of 1946 established the Department of Parliamentary elections headed by a Commissioner and assisted by Assistant and Deputy Commissioners, with the responsibility of registering electors and the conduct of Parliamentary Elections. At the same time, the Local Authorities Ordinance, No. 53 of 1946 established the Department of Local Authorities Elections under a separate Commissioner and staff to oversee and administer all non-Parliamentary elections on the island. During its existence, the former oversaw two Parliamentary elections, in

1947 It was the first year of the Cold War, which would last until 1991, ending with the dissolution of the Soviet Union. Events January * January–February – Winter of 1946–47 in the United Kingdom: The worst snowfall in the country i ...

and 1952. These two departments functioned independently of each other until 1 October 1955, when they were merged to form the Department of Elections; as was the case with its predecessors, the department functioned as an independent, non-ministerial institution answerable only to

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

and the

Judiciary The judiciary (also known as the judicial system, judicature, judicial branch, judiciative branch, and court or judiciary system) is the system of courts that adjudicates legal disputes/disagreements and interprets, defends, and applies the law ...

Early history

Commissioners

See also

Notes

References