Dedigama electoral district was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between August 1947 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Dedigama in Kegalle District, Sabaragamuwa 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. Dedigama electoral district was replaced by the Kegalle multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections, the first under the proportional representation system.
Members of Parliament Key
ElectionMemberPartyTerm 1947Dudley SenanayakeUnited National Party 1947-1952 1952 1952-1956 1956 Maithripala Herath Mahajana Eksath Peramuna 1956-1960 1960 (March)Dudley SenanayakeUnited National Party 1960 1960 (July) 1960-1965 1965 1965-1970 1970 1970-1973 1973 (by-election) Rukman Senanayake 1973-1977 1977 Nissanka Wijeyeratne 1977-1989
Elections 1947 Parliamentary General Election Results of the 1st parliamentary election held between 23 August 1947 and 20 September 1947:
CandidatePartySymbolVotes% Dudley Senanayake United National Party Hand 20,170 85.14 B. J. Fernando Elephant 3,308 13.96Valid Votes23,47899.10Rejected Votes 213 0.90Total Polled 23,691 100.00Registered Electors 29,556 Turnout 80.16
1952 Parliamentary General Election Results of the 2nd parliamentary election held between 24 May 1952 and 30 May 1952:
CandidatePartySymbolVotes%Dudley Senanayake United National Party Elephant 21,206 75.13Hector Wijetunga Star 5,647 20.01Darrell Peiris Sri Lanka Freedom Party Hand 1,136 4.02Valid Votes27,98999.16Rejected Votes 237 0.84Total Polled 28,226 100.00Registered Electors 34,764 Turnout 81.19
1956 Parliamentary General Election Results of the 3rd parliamentary election held between 5 April 1956 and 10 April 1956:
CandidatePartySymbolVotes%Maithripala Herath Sri Lanka Freedom Party Hand 22,816 77.26Wimala I. Kannangara United National Party Elephant 6,360 21.54W. A. Munasinghe Umbrella 191 0.65Valid Votes29,36799.44Rejected Votes 164 0.56Total Polled 29,531 100.00Registered Electors 39,972 Turnout 73.88
1960 (March) Parliamentary General Election Results of the 4th parliamentary election held on 19 March 1960:
CandidatePartySymbolVotes% Dudley Senanayake United National Party Elephant 12,208 49.52 W. A. Munasinghe Sri Lanka Freedom Party Hand 5,629 22.83 Athauda Seneviratne Lanka Sama Samaja Party Key 4,383 17.78 Maithripala Herath Cartwheel 2,289 9.28Valid Votes24,50999.41Rejected Votes146 0.59Total Polled24,655 100.00Registered Electors29,061 Turnout84.84
1960 (July) Parliamentary General Election Results of the 5th parliamentary election held on 20 July 1960:
CandidatePartySymbolVotes%Dudley Senanayake United National Party Elephant 13,340 53.12Deshapriya Senanayake Sri Lanka Freedom Party Hand 11,683 46.52Valid Votes25,02399.63Rejected Votes 92 0.37Total Polled 25,115 100.00Registered Electors 29,061 Turnout 86.42
1965 Parliamentary General Election Results of the 6th parliamentary election held on 22 March 1965:
CandidatePartySymbolVotes%Dudley Senanayake United National Party Elephant 17,987 55.02Deshapriya Senanayake Sri Lanka Freedom Party Hand 14,558 44.53Valid Votes32,54599.54Rejected Votes 149 0.46Total Polled 32,694 100.00Registered Electors 36,072 Turnout 90.64
1970 Parliamentary General Election Results of the 7th parliamentary election held on 27 May 1970:
CandidatePartySymbolVotes%Dudley Senanayake United National Party Elephant 19,513 51.29Dharmasiri Senanayake Sri Lanka Freedom Party Hand 18,446 48.48Valid Votes37,95999.77Rejected Votes 89 0.23Total Polled 38,048 100.00Registered Electors 41,595 Turnout 91.47
1973 Parliamentary by-election Following the death of Dudley Senanayake in April 1973 a by-election for the seat of Dedigama was held on 9 July 1973:
CandidatePartySymbolVotes%Rukman Senanayake United National Party Elephant 23,306 54.61Dharmasiri Senanayake Sri Lanka Freedom Party Hand 18,798 44.05Sirisena Rajapakse Chair 227 0.53J. D. Sugathadasa Lamp 205 0.48Valid Votes42,53699.67Rejected Votes 139 0.33Total Polled 42,675 100.00Registered Electors Turnout
1977 Parliamentary General Election Results of the 8th parliamentary election held on 21 July 1977:
CandidatePartySymbolVotes%Nissanka Wijeyeratne United National Party Elephant 24,436 54.07Dharmasiri Senanayake Sri Lanka Freedom Party Hand 17,704 39.18A. R. Victor Rajapakse Chair 2,071 4.58M. J. F. Ratnayake Key 829 1.83A. R. Wijeratne Ladder 152 0.34Valid Votes45,05099.69Rejected Votes 124 0.31Total Polled 45,192 100.00Registered Electors 50,729 Turnout 89.09
References