Snap parliamentary elections were held in
Ceylon in July 1960.
Background
The
March 1960 election had left neither of Ceylon's two major parties with a majority, so another election was inevitable.
The
Sri Lanka Freedom Party, which had been in disarray since the murder of its leader
S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike the previous year, settled on his widow,
Sirimavo, as its new leader. She pledged to continue her husband's policies, notably the
Sinhala Only Act, and to proceed with repatriation of the
estate Tamils to
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
. However, she promised to reach a compromise with the
Federal Party.
The
United National Party
The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...
, led by
Dudley Senanayake
Dudley Shelton Senanayake ( Sinhala: ඩඩ්ලි ශෙල්ටන් සේනානායක: ta, டட்லி சேனநாயக்கா; 19 June 1911 – 13 April 1973), was a Sri Lankan statesman who served as Prime Min ...
, refused to compromise with the Federal Party. It also differed with the SLFP over economic policy. The SLFP called for a
socialist
Socialism is a left-wing economic philosophy and movement encompassing a range of economic systems characterized by the dominance of social ownership of the means of production as opposed to private ownership. As a term, it describes the ...
program of
nationalization of both private enterprises and religious schools; the UNP preferred to leave both in private hands.
Results
The SLFP obtained a bare majority, despite getting a lower share of the popular vote than the UNP, and Mrs. Bandaranaike became
prime minister
A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister i ...
.
References
*
*
*
*
*
*
{{Sri Lankan elections
Ceylon
1960 in Ceylon
July 1960 events in Asia
1960 07
1960