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{{Infobox election
| election_name = 1988 North Eastern Provincial Council election
| country = North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka
| type = parliamentary
| ongoing = no
| previous_election =
| previous_year =
| next_election =
| next_year =
| seats_for_election = 71 seats across 1 provincial council
| election_date = 19 November 1988
| turnout =
| 1blank = Councillors
| 2blank = Councils

| image1 =
| leader1 = [[Varatharajah Perumal]]
| color1 = FF0000
| party1 = [[Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front]]
| alliance1 =
| home_state1 = n/a
| last_election1 =
| seats_before1 =
| states_carried1 =
| seats1 =
| seat_change1 =
| popular_vote1 = 215,230
| percentage1 = 55.00%
| 1data1 = 41
| 2data1 = '''1'''

| image2 =
| leader2 = [[M. H. M. Ashraff]]
| color2 = 007B48
| party2 = [[Sri Lanka Muslim Congress]]
| alliance2 =
| home_state2 = n/a
| last_election2 =
| seats_before2 =
| states_carried2 =
| seats2 =
| seat_change2 =
| popular_vote2 = 168,038
| percentage2 = 42.94%
| 1data2 = 17
| 2data2 = '''0'''

| title = Chief Minister
| before_election = None
| before_party =
| after_election =[[Varatharajah Perumal]]
| after_party = [[Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front|EPRLF]]

| map_image =
| map_size =
| map_alt =
| map_caption =
}}

[[Image:North Eastern Sri Lanka districts.png|thumb|400px|[[North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|North Eastern Province]], [[Sri Lanka]], 1988-2006]]
'''Provincial Council elections''' were held on 19 November 1988 to elect members to [[Sri Lanka]]’s [[North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|North Eastern Provincial Council]].

==Background==
The [[Indo-Sri Lanka Accord|Indo-Lanka Accord]] signed on 29 July 1987 required the [[Politics of Sri Lanka|Sri Lankan government]] to [[devolve]] powers to the [[Provinces of Sri Lanka|provinces]] and, in the meantime, to [[Merger (politics)|merge]] the [[Northern Province, Sri Lanka|Northern]] and [[Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|Eastern]] provinces into one [[Administrative division|administrative unit]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Indo Sri Lanka Agreement, 1987 |url=http://www.tamilnation.org/conflictresolution/tamileelam/87peaceaccord.htm |publisher=TamilNation |access-date=28 June 2009}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>

On 14 November 1987 the [[Sri Lankan Parliament]] passed the 13th [[Constitutional amendment|Amendment]] to the [[Constitution of Sri Lanka|1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka]] and the Provincial Councils Act No 42 of 1987, establishing provincial councils.<ref>{{cite web |title=Provincial Councils |url=http://www.priu.gov.lk/ProvCouncils/ProvicialCouncils.html |publisher=The Official Website of the Government of Sri Lanka |access-date=28 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090707214924/http://www.priu.gov.lk/ProvCouncils/ProvicialCouncils.html |archive-date=7 July 2009 }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Constitution |url=http://www.priu.gov.lk/Cons/1978Constitution/AMENDMENTS.html |publisher=The Official Website of the Government of Sri Lanka |access-date=28 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090817113810/http://www.priu.gov.lk/Cons/1978Constitution/AMENDMENTS.html |archive-date=2009-08-17 |url-status=dead }}</ref> On September 2 and 8 1988 [[Junius Richard Jayewardene|President Jayewardene]] issued [[proclamations]] enabling the Northern and Eastern provinces to be one administrative unit administered by one elected Council.<ref name="lnp">{{cite web |title=North-East merger illegal: SC |url=http://www.lankanewspapers.com/news/2006/10/8947.html |date=17 October 2006 |publisher=LankaNewspapers.com |access-date=28 June 2009}}</ref>

The first [[elections]] for provincial councils took place on 28 April 1988 in [[North Central Province, Sri Lanka|North Central]], [[North Western Province, Sri Lanka|North Western]], [[Sabaragamuwa Province|Sabaragamuwa]], and [[Uva Province|Uva]] provinces.<ref>{{cite web |title=Ethnic Conflict of Sri Lanka: Time Line - From Independence to 1999 |url=http://www.ices.lk/sl_database/ethnic_conflict/time_line.shtml |publisher=International Centre for Ethnic Studies |access-date=28 June 2009 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091212123102/http://www.ices.lk/sl_database/ethnic_conflict/time_line.shtml |archive-date=12 December 2009 }}</ref> Elections in the newly merged North Eastern Province were held on 19 November 1988.

==Results==

===Overall===
{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:right;"
|-
! align=left valign=bottom rowspan=2 width="270"|Party!!colspan=3|Eastern!!colspan=3|Northern!!colspan=3|Total
|-
! align=center valign=bottom width="60"|Votes!!align=center valign=bottom width="60"|%!!align=center valign=bottom width="40"|Seats!!align=center valign=bottom width="60"|Votes!!align=center valign=bottom width="60"|%!!align=center valign=bottom width="40"|Seats!!align=center valign=bottom width="60"|Votes!!align=center valign=bottom width="60"|%!!align=center valign=bottom width="40"|Seats
|-
| align=left|[[Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front]]||215,230||55.00%||17||||||24||'''215,230'''||'''55.00%'''||'''41'''
|-
| align=left|[[Sri Lanka Muslim Congress]]||168,038||42.94%||17||||||||'''168,038'''||'''42.94%'''||'''17'''
|-
| align=left|[[United National Party]]||8,056||2.06%||1||||||||'''8,056'''||'''2.06%'''||'''1'''
|-
| align=left|[[Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front]]||||||||||||12||||||'''12'''
|-
| align=left|'''Total'''||'''391,324'''||'''100.00%'''||'''35'''||||||'''36'''||'''391,324'''||'''100.00%'''||'''71'''
|-
|align=left colspan=10|Source:<ref name="tt">{{cite journal |date=December 1988 |title=Election Results |journal=Tamil Times |volume= VIII |issue= 1 |page=4 |issn=0266-4488 }}</ref>
|}

===Ampara District===
{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:right;"
|-
! align=left valign=bottom rowspan=2 width="270"|Party!!colspan=4|Votes per Polling Division!!align=center valign=bottom rowspan=2 width="60"|Total Votes!!align=center valign=bottom rowspan=2 width="60"|%!!align=center valign=bottom rowspan=2 width="40"|Seats
|-
! align=center valign=bottom width="60"|Ampara!! align=center valign=bottom width="60"|Kalmunai!!align=center valign=bottom width="60"|Pottuvil!!align=center valign=bottom width="60"|Sammanthurai
|-
| align=left|[[Sri Lanka Muslim Congress]]||40||26,441||34,972||28,983||'''90,436'''||63.03%||9
|-
| align=left|[[Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front]]||20||12,626||25,140||7,968||'''45,754'''||31.89%||4
|-
| align=left|[[United National Party]]||5,338||111||1,704||147||'''7,300'''||5.09%||1
|-
| align=left|'''Valid Votes'''||'''5,398'''||'''39,178'''||'''61,816'''||'''37,098'''||'''143,490'''||'''100.00%'''||'''14'''
|-
| align=left|Rejected Votes||219||460||932||1,020||2,631||||
|-
| align=left|Total Polled||5,617||39,638||62,748||38,118||146,121||||
|-
| align=left|Registered Electors||94,068||44,075||82,833||44,975||265,951||||
|-
| align=left|Turnout (%)||5.97%||89.93%||75.75%||84.75%||54.94%||||
|-
|align=left colspan=8|Source:<ref name="tt"/>
|}

===Batticaloa District===
{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:right;"
|-
! align=left valign=bottom rowspan=2 width="270"|Party!!colspan=3|Votes per Polling Division!!align=center valign=bottom rowspan=2 width="60"|Total Votes!!align=center valign=bottom rowspan=2 width="60"|%!!align=center valign=bottom rowspan=2 width="40"|Seats
|-
! align=center valign=bottom width="60"|Batticaloa!! align=center valign=bottom width="60"|Kalkudah!!align=center valign=bottom width="60"|Paddiruppu
|-
| align=left|[[Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front]]||46,006||32,546||48,394||'''126,946'''||74.76%||8
|-
| align=left|[[Sri Lanka Muslim Congress]]||29,594||12,331||175||'''42,100'''||24.79%||3
|-
| align=left|[[United National Party]]||476||194||86||'''756'''||0.45%||0
|-
| align=left|'''Valid Votes'''||'''76,076'''||'''45,071'''||'''48,655'''||'''169,802'''||'''100.00%'''||'''11'''
|-
| align=left|Rejected Votes||1,495||629||610||2,734||||
|-
| align=left|Total Polled||77,571||45,700||49,265||172,536||||
|-
| align=left|Registered Electors||100,536||60,288||56,452||217,276||||
|-
| align=left|Turnout (%)||77.16%||75.80%||87.27%||79.41%||||
|-
|align=left colspan=7|Source:<ref name="tt"/>
|}

===Jaffna District===
The [[Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front]] won all 19 seats uncontested.<ref name="tt"/>

===Kilinochchi District===
The [[Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front]] won all 3 seats uncontested.<ref name="tt"/>

===Mannar District===
The [[Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front]] won all 5 seats uncontested.<ref name="tt"/>

===Mullaitivu District===
The [[Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front]] won all 5 seats uncontested.<ref name="tt"/>

===Trincomalee District===
{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:right;"
|-
! align=left valign=bottom rowspan=2 width="270"|Party!!colspan=3|Votes per Polling Division!!align=center valign=bottom rowspan=2 width="60"|Total Votes!!align=center valign=bottom rowspan=2 width="60"|%!!align=center valign=bottom rowspan=2 width="40"|Seats
|-
! align=center valign=bottom width="60"|Mutur!! align=center valign=bottom width="60"|Seruwila!!align=center valign=bottom width="60"|Trincomalee
|-
| align=left|[[Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front]]||12,311||4,840||25,379||'''42,530'''||54.50%||5
|-
| align=left|[[Sri Lanka Muslim Congress]]||24,006||3,764||7,732||'''35,502'''||45.50%||5
|-
| align=left|'''Valid Votes'''||'''36,317'''||'''8,604'''||'''33,111'''||'''78,032'''||'''100.00%'''||'''10'''
|-
| align=left|Rejected Votes|||810||295||1,272||2,377||||
|-
| align=left|Total Polled||37,127||8,899||34,383||80,409||||
|-
| align=left|Registered Electors||48,570||47,693||56,026||152,289||||
|-
| align=left|Turnout (%)||76.44%||18.66%||61.37%||52.80%||||
|-
|align=left colspan=7|Source:<ref name="tt"/>
|}

===Vavuniya District===
The [[Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front]] won all 4 seats uncontested.<ref name="tt"/>

==Aftermath==
On 10 December 1988 Annamalai Varatharajah Perumal of the [[Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front|EPRLF]] became the first Chief Minister of the North Eastern Provincial Council.<ref>{{cite web |author=K T Rajasingham |title=Sri Lanka" The Untold Story |url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DD20Df03.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20020427122344/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DD20Df03.html |url-status=unfit |archive-date=27 April 2002 |date=20 April 2002|publisher= Asia Times |access-date=28 June 2009}}</ref>

On 1 March 1990, just as the [[Indian Peace Keeping Force]] were preparing to withdraw from Sri Lanka, Permual moved a motion in the North Eastern Provincial Council [[Declaration of independence|declaring]] an [[Independence|independent]] [[Tamil Eelam|Eelam]].<ref>{{cite web |author=Shamindra Ferdinando |title=I'm no traitor, says Perumal |url=http://www.priu.gov.lk/news_update/features/20000912no_traitor.htm |date=10 September 2000 |publisher=Sunday Island, Sri Lanka |access-date=28 June 2009 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090501173226/http://www.priu.gov.lk/news_update/features/20000912no_traitor.htm |archive-date=2009-05-01 |url-status=dead }}</ref> [[Ranasinghe Premadasa|President Premadasa]] reacted to Permual's UDI by dissolving the provincial council and imposing direct rule on the province.

On 14 July 2006, after a long campaign against the merger of the Northern and Eastern provinces, the [[Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna]], a [[Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism|Sinhalese nationalist]] [[political party]], filed three separate [[petitions]] with the [[Supreme Court of Sri Lanka]] requesting a separate Provincial Council for the East.<ref name="lnp"/> On 16 October 2006 the Supreme Court ruled that the proclamations issued by President Jayewardene in September 1988 were null and void and had no legal effect.<ref name="lnp"/> The North Eastern Province was formally demerged into the Northern and Eastern provinces on 1 January 2007.

The north-east of Sri Lanka was ruled directly from [[Colombo]] until May 2008 when [[2008 Sri Lanka Eastern Provincial Council elections|elections]] were held in the demerged Eastern Province. However, the Northern Province continues to be ruled from Government.

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

{{Sri Lankan elections}}

{{#seo:
|keywords=1988 elections in Asia, 1988 in Sri Lanka, November 1988 events in Asia, Indian Peace Keeping Force
|description=
}}

[[Category:Sri Lankan provincial council elections|1988]]
[[Category:1988 elections in Asia]]
[[Category:1988 in Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:November 1988 events in Asia]]
[[Category:Indian Peace Keeping Force]]

1988 North Eastern Provincial Council election - Revision history

MetaBOT at 15:24, 8 July 2023