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{{Short description|Provincial Council Election in Sri Lanka}}
{{Infobox election
| election_name = 2008 Sri Lanka Eastern Provincial Council elections
| country = Eastern Province, Sri Lanka
| type = parliamentary
| ongoing = no
| party_colour =
| party_name =
| previous_election =
| previous_year =
| previous_mps =
| next_election = 2012 Sri Lankan provincial council elections#Eastern Province
| next_year = 2012
| elected_members = 1st Eastern Provincial Council
| next_mps =
| seats_for_election = All 37 seats to the [[Eastern Provincial Council]]
| election_date = 10 May 2008
| turnout = 65.78%
| leader1 = [[Mahinda Rajapaksa]]
| image1 = The former President of Sri Lanka, Mr. Mahinda Rajapaksa meeting the Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, in New Delhi on September 12, 2018 (1) (cropped).JPG
| leader_since1 =
| color1 =
| party1 = United People's Freedom Alliance
| leaders_seat1 =
| last_election1 =
| seats1 = '''20'''
| seat_change1 =
| popular_vote1 = '''308,886'''
| percentage1 = '''52.21%'''
| swing1 =

| leader2 = [[Ranil Wickremesinghe]]
| image2 = President Dr Muizzu meets Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe (cropped).jpg
| party2 = United National Party
| last_election2 =
| seats2 = 15
| seat_change2 =
| popular_vote2 = 250,732
| percentage2 = 42.38%
| swing2 =

| title = Chief Minister
| before_election = ''Vacant''
| before_party =
| after_election = [[Sivanesathurai Chandrakanthan]]
| after_party = [[United People's Freedom Alliance|UPFA]] ([[Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal|TMVP]])
}}
[[Image:Sri Lanka provinces.png|200px|thumb|Sri Lanka's Eastern Province was demerged from the Northern Province in 2006]]
The '''Sri Lanka Eastern Provincial Council elections, 2008''' was held on May 10, 2008 to elect members to [[Sri Lanka]]’s [[Eastern Provincial Council]]. Following the successful completion of local government elections in the [[Batticaloa District]], Sri Lanka’s Elections Department announced on March 14 that the elections for the Eastern Provincial Council were to be held in May, after a lapse of 20 years.<ref name="nk1">''newKerala.com'' [http://www.newkerala.com/one.php?action=fullnews&id=33992 Sri Lanka to hold eastern provincial elections in May]</ref> It was only the second time direct elections are held to select members for the council, and first time for the Eastern Provincial Council alone, after it was separated from the [[North-Eastern Provincial Council]] in 2006.

Nominations for contesting in the elections were accepted from March 27 to April 3, and a total of 1342 candidates from 18 political parties and 56 independent groups contested the elections where over 980,000 people were eligible to vote.<ref name="sle1">''Sri Lanka Department of Elections'', [https://archive.today/20060713191547/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/press_release.html Elections to Provincial Councils - 2008]</ref><ref name="xin1">''Xinhua'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20080522114924/http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2008-04/03/content_7913639.htm Nominations closed for eastern Sri Lanka elections]</ref> Both of Sri Lanka’s major political parties, the opposition [[United National Party]] and the ruling [[United People's Freedom Alliance]] took part in the election in coalitions with a number of other parties, but under their own names.

According to the official results released by the Elections Department, the ruling UPFA were victorious in the election, winning 20 seats, while the opposition UNP won 15 seats. Two smaller parties, the [[Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna]] (JVP) and the [[Tamil Democratic National Alliance]] also won 1 seat each.<ref name="sle3"/>

==Background==
{{Politics of Sri Lanka}}
{{further|Sri Lankan Civil War}}
The Provincial Council system was first set up in Sri Lanka following the signing of the [[Indo-Sri Lanka Accord]] in 1987. Although Sri Lanka has [[Provinces of Sri Lanka|9 provinces]], as part of the agreement the Northern and Eastern provinces were merged into a single [[North Eastern Province, Sri Lanka|North Eastern Province]], and a joint North-Eastern Provincial Council formed. This was done following demands of [[Sri Lankan Tamils|Tamil]] political parties, who consider the north and east of Sri Lanka as their "traditional homeland", and wanted to administer the area as a single entity, against the protests of some members of the Sinhalese and Muslim communities.<ref name="ild1">{{cite news|url=http://www.island.lk/2008/05/11/politics1.html|title=Hakeem as a Premadasa|date=2008-05-11|publisher=The Island|access-date=2008-05-11}}</ref><ref name="nyt1">{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE2DE1539F931A3575AC0A966958260|title= Muslims in Sri Lanka Flee Violence of Civil War|last=Crossette|first=Barbara|date=1990-09-02|work=The New York Times|access-date=2008-05-11}}</ref>

The first elections were held for the North Eastern Provincial council on November 19, 1988.<ref name="atimes1">{{cite book |last=K T Rajasingham |title=SRI LANKA: THE UNTOLD STORY |chapter=36: Indians rule the roost |chapter-url=http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DD20Df03.html |access-date=2008-05-10 |archive-date=2009-02-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090207203445/http://www.atimes.com/ind-pak/DD20Df03.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> The Tamil nationalist parties [[Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front]] (EPRLF) and [[Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front]] (ENDLF) won 35 and 12 seats respectively, while the [[Sri Lanka Muslim Congress]] (SLMC) won 17 seats and the ruling [[United National Party]] won one seat. [[Varatharaja Perumal]] was appointed Chief Minister by the victorious EPRLF, who also announced that they would form a ruling coalition with the ENDLF.<ref name="atimes1"/> However, as relations soured with India, and renewed fighting broke out between the government and the rebel [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam]] organization (the Tamil Tigers), the North-Eastern Provincial Council was dissolved in 1990 and its administration taken over by the government. The area was ruled by the government since then, with parts of it under the control of the Tamil Tigers.<ref name="ien1">''IndiaeNews'' [https://web.archive.org/web/20080521131313/http://www.indiaenews.com/srilanka/20080312/103864.htm Sri Lanka to hold eastern provincial elections in May]</ref> While fresh elections were held for the other 7 provincial councils in 1993, and subsequently every five years later, no elections were held for the North Eastern due to the situation on the ground.

Throughout the 1990s, control over parts of the province changed hands between the government and LTTE. When the ceasefire agreement was signed in 2002, parts of all 3 districts composing the Eastern Province were under the control of the LTTE. As the ceasefire broke down in mid-2006, the government launched a major military offensive to clear the Eastern Province of the LTTE. The Sri Lankan military fully achieving this objective in July 2007,<ref name="dn1">''Daily News'' [http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/07/12/sec01.asp Tigers’ last Eastern bastion falls] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521073917/http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/07/12/sec01.asp |date=2008-05-21 }}</ref> and plans were immediately drawn up to hold local elections for the area.<ref name="dn2">''Daily News'' [http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/07/14/pol01.asp Bill in Parliament soon for Eastern polls] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521073922/http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/07/14/pol01.asp |date=2008-05-21 }}</ref> Elections were however delayed due to the unstable situation on the ground, as it was the first time in 14 years that some parts of the province came under the control of the government.

In the meantime, in a landmark decision the [[Supreme Court of Sri Lanka]] ruled on October 16, 2006 that since other conditions set the merger were not satisfied, the merger of the two provinces was "null and void without having any legal effect", thereby separating the administrative functions of the two provinces.<ref name="dn5">{{cite news|url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2006/10/17/|title=SC rules North-East merger invalid|date=2006-08-17|work=Daily News|access-date=2008-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521073911/http://www.dailynews.lk/2006/10/17/|archive-date=2008-05-21|url-status=dead}}</ref>

As a precursor to the Provincial Council elections, the government first held elections to local government bodies in the Batticaloa district on March 10, with the [[TamilEela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal]] (TMVP) winning 8 of the 9 bodies up for grabs. (see [http://www.slelections.gov.lk/lauthorities/2006_results/batticaloa.html official results]{{dead link|date=May 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }})

==Details==

The Eastern Province contains 15% of the landmass of Sri Lanka, and has a population of approximately 1.5 million people, or 7.8% of the country's population.<ref name="newe1">{{cite web|url=http://www.neweast.lk/statistics.html|title=Statistics of the Eastern Province|publisher=Nagenahira Navodaya|access-date=2008-05-10|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080509140051/http://www.neweast.lk/statistics.html|archive-date=2008-05-09|url-status=dead}}</ref> Members for provincial councils are directly elected for 5-year terms. The leader of the council majority serves as the province's Chief Minister, alongside a board of ministers. A provincial governor is appointed by the [[President of Sri Lanka]].

Voting to select members for the provincial councils took place between 7:00am and 4:00pm Sri Lankan time, at 1070 polling stations throughout the Eastern Province. A total of 37 members were to be elected to the Provincial Council, 14 from the [[Ampara District]], 11 from the [[Batticaloa District]] and 10 from the [[Trincomalee District]], with the overall winner gaining two additional "bonus" members. 79 counting centers were set up to tally the votes.<ref name="sle2">{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/notice.html|title=Notice|publisher=Sri Lanka Department of Elections|access-date=2008-05-10}} {{Dead link|date=October 2010|bot=H3llBot}}</ref>

==Contesting political parties==

The opposition [[United National Party]] (UNP) boycotted the Batticaloa local government elections in March claiming the existence of the armed [[TMVP]] cadres would prevent the holding of free and fair elections. This move was however criticized by some analysts, and the UNP also faced pressure from within the party to contest the Provincial Council Elections.<ref name="dm1">''Daily Mirror Opinion'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20080521065402/http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=9550 The Eastern litmus test], Kesara Abeywardena</ref><ref name="dm2">''Daily Mirror Opinion'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20080521065408/http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=9793 UNP catches the bus missed at Batticaloa], Subash Wickramasinghe</ref> Subsequently, the UNP announced on March 25 that they would be contesting the election.<ref name="dm3">''Daily Mirror'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20080521065341/http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=10175 UNP decides to contest PC polls in East]</ref><ref name="dn3">''Daily News'', [http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/03/26/pol02.asp UNP, SLMC to contest EP poll] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080329175231/http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/03/26/pol02.asp |date=2008-03-29 }}</ref>

The [[Sri Lanka Muslim Congress]], the largest [[Muslim]] Party in the country, initially attempted to contest the elections as part of a larger coalition of Muslim parties. However discussions regarding this fell through, mainly because the parties could not agree on a symbol to contest under, with the SLMC insisting the alliance should use the “tree” symbol, a proposal the other parties were opposed to.<ref name="dm3"/> On April 2, the SLMC announced they would contest the elections with the UNP,<ref name="dn4">''Daily News'', [http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/04/02/pol01.asp EU poll: UNP, SLMC to contest under Elephant symbol] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080405181129/http://www.dailynews.lk/2008/04/02/pol01.asp |date=2008-04-05 }}</ref> under the United National Party banner and the “elephant” symbol.

In a surprise move, SLMC leader and [[Member of Parliament]] [[Rauff Hakeem]], along with 2 other SLMC MPs, Party Chairman Basheer Segudawood and General Secretary Hasen Ali also resigned from their seats in the [[Parliament of Sri Lanka|national parliament]] on April 2, and announced they would be contesting in the Provincial Council Elections. At the same time, another senior member of the SLMC, M.L.A.M. Hisbullah crossed over to the government.<ref name="dm4">''Daily Mirror'', [https://web.archive.org/web/20080521065351/http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=10892 SLMC stalwarts quit Parliament]</ref>

After discussions, the TMVP and the ruling [[United People's Freedom Alliance]] (UPFA) also announced on March 30 that they will jointly contest the polls under the UPFA's “betel leaf” symbol.<ref name="ls1">''The Lanka Sun'', [http://lankasun.com:8000/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=4015&Itemid=26 TMVP to contest east polls under UPFA’s ‘betel’ symbol]{{Dead link|date=August 2018 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> After some arguments between the leading Muslim candidate M.L.A.M. Hisbullah, and the leading Tamil candidate and leader of the TMVP [[Pillayan]] as to who will be appointed Chief Minister if the UPFA won the election, the ruling party decided that whichever community won the most votes would be given the Chief Ministerial post.<ref name="tbl1">{{cite news|url=http://www.thebottomline.lk/2008/04/16/B28.htm|title=Hisbullah, Pillaiyan reach consensus|date=2008-04-16|publisher=The Bottom Line|access-date=2008-05-11|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080521083949/http://www.thebottomline.lk/2008/04/16/B28.htm|archive-date=2008-05-21|url-status=dead}}</ref>

The largest Tamil political party [[Tamil National Alliance]] totally boycotting these polls. United National party (UNP) and TNA groups claim unfair elections took place. TNA claimed it wasn't safe for them to operate in the east because the TMVP group was armed. TMVP threatened TNA MP's and also captured alive family members of TNA MP prior to the elections. Human rights groups claim that TMVP used violence before the election and therefore the elections were "tainted". An independent candidate also claimed that people voted out of fear for army backed TMVP.

===Parties contesting in all 3 districts===

{| class="wikitable" style="width:750px; margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
!width="55%" | Political Party
!width="15%" | Symbol
!width="10%" | [[Batticaloa District|Batticaloa]]
!width="10%" | [[Ampara District|Ampara]]
!width="10%" | [[Trincomalee District|Trincomalee]]
|-
| [[United People's Freedom Alliance]]
| Betel Leaf
| Y
| Y
| Y
|-
| [[United National Party]]
| Elephant
| Y
| Y
| Y
|-
| [[United Socialist Party (Sri Lanka)|United Socialist Party]]
| Tri-Shaw
| Y
| Y
| Y
|-
| [[Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna]]
| Bell
| Y
| Y
| Y
|-
| [[People's Front of Liberation Tigers]]
| Tiger
| Y
| Y
| Y
|-
| [[Sinhalaye Mahasammatha Bhoomiputra Pakshaya]]
| Aeroplane
| Y
| Y
| Y
|}

===Parties contesting in 2 districts===

{| class="wikitable" style="width:750px; margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
!width="55%" | Political Party
!width="15%" | Symbol
!width="10%" | [[Batticaloa District|Batticaloa]]
!width="10%" | [[Ampara District|Ampara]]
!width="10%" | [[Trincomalee District|Trincomalee]]
|-
| [[Eelavar Democratic Front]]
|Plough
| Y
| -
| Y
|-
| [[Sri Lanka National Front]]
|Cricket Bat
| Y
| -
| Y
|-
| Sri Lanka Progressive Front
|Flower Vase
| Y
| -
| Y
|-
| Jathika Sangwardena Peramuna
|Coconut
| -
| Y
| Y
|-
| Ruhunu Janatha Party
|Motor Car
| -
| Y
| Y
|}

===Parties contesting in 1 district===

{| class="wikitable" style="width:750px; margin: 1em auto 1em auto"
!width="55%" | Political Party
!width="15%" | Symbol
!width="10%" | [[Batticaloa District|Batticaloa]]
!width="10%" | [[Ampara District|Ampara]]
!width="10%" | [[Trincomalee District|Trincomalee]]
|-
| [[Tamil Democratic National Alliance]]
|Anchor
| Y
| -
| -
|-
| Muslim Liberation Front
|Butterfly
| Y
| -
| -
|-
| [[Eelam People's Democratic Party]]
|Veena
| Y
| -
| -
|-
| [[New Sinhala Heritage|Nawa Sihala Urumaya]]
|Bow and Arrow
| -
| Y
| -
|-
| United National Alliance
|Swan
| -
| Y
| -
|-
| [[Liberal Party of Sri Lanka|The Liberal Party]]
|Book
| -
| Y
| -
|}

In addition, there were 11 independent parties contesting in the Batticaloa District, 22 in the Ampara District and 19 in the Trincomalee District.<ref name="sle1"/>

==Lead up to the elections==

Despite some concerns that armed groups would disrupt the elections, the independent election monitoring group [[People's Action Front for Free and Fair Elections]] (PAFFREL) said that they did not see any evidence of any groups using arms during the campaigning. 10 days before the election, the chief of PAFFEREL Kingsley Rodrigo told the Daily Mirror that he expected to see a free and fair election.<ref name="dm6">{{cite news|url=http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=13502 |title=Armed groups not using guns for polls: PAFFREL|date=2008-05-02|publisher=Daily Mirror|access-date=2008-05-04 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20080521065358/http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=13502 |archive-date = 2008-05-21}}</ref>

There will also be 2,500 local and 20 internal polls monitors on the ground monitoring the elections.<ref name="ntn1">''The Nation'', [http://www.nation.lk/2008/05/04/news8.htm 2,520 observers to monitor eastern poll]</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sinhala/news/story/2008/05/080510_election|title=Polling ends with rigging allegations|publisher=BBC News|date=10 May 2008}}</ref>

There was a powerful bomb exploded at the town of Ampara on May 9, 2008 just a day before the elections, also 11 people killed and 36 sustained injuries. The suspected [[LTTE]] planted the bomb by targeting government military personnel that used this place as a resting place.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/sinhala/news/story/2008/05/080509_ampara_bomb|title=11 killed in Ampara blast|publisher=BBC News|date=9 May 2008}}</ref>

==Results==
According to official results, the ruling [[United People's Freedom Alliance]] gained a majority in the Provincial Council, which was seen as a strike against the Tamil Tiger rebels.<ref name="afp1">{{cite news|url=http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h3RvVChoqfPIJ5zTn6OAc2oT9MBQ|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080514085046/http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5h3RvVChoqfPIJ5zTn6OAc2oT9MBQ|url-status=dead|archive-date=2008-05-14|title=Sri Lanka govt wins key polls in boost for war effort|date=2008-05-11|publisher=AFP|access-date=2008-05-11}}</ref> The UPFA won 20 seats (18 seats directly and two bonus seats for gaining the most votes overall), the opposition [[United National Party]] 15 seats and two smaller parties, the [[Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna]] and the [[Tamil Democratic National Alliance]] won one seat each.<ref name="sle3">{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/provincial/2008_results/alldistricts.html |archive-url=https://archive.today/20080705182631/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/provincial/2008_results/alldistricts.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=2008-07-05 |title=Provincial Council Elections 2008, Eastern Province - Results |work=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka |access-date=2008-05-11 }}</ref><ref>[http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/6408286.html Sri Lankan ruling party wins east poll - People's Daily Online]</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7394488.stm|title=Sri Lankan government wins vote|publisher=BBC News|date=11 May 2008}}</ref>

[[Pillayan]], a former rebel leader, was sworn in as [[Chief Minister of Eastern Province]] on 16 May 2008.<ref>[http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90777/6412729.html Former rebel leader sworn in as Chief Minister of Sri Lanka's Eastern Province - People's Daily Online]</ref>

<section begin="Eastern" />{{election table|title=Summary of the May 10, 2008 [[Eastern Provincial Council|Sri Lanka Eastern Provincial Council]] [[2008 Sri Lanka Eastern Provincial Council elections|election]] results}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/Provincial/2008/Eastern/proFinal.html|title=Provincial Council Elections 2008 Final District Results: - Eastern Province|publisher=Department of Elections, Sri Lanka|access-date=2021-08-15|archive-date=2012-12-20|archive-url=https://archive.today/20121220082826/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/Provincial/2008/Eastern/proFinal.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>
|-
! style="vertical-align:bottom" rowspan=2 colspan=2 width="300"|Alliances and parties !! colspan=3|[[Ampara Electoral District|Ampara]] !! colspan=3|[[Batticaloa Electoral District|Batticaloa]] !! colspan=3|[[Trincomalee Electoral District|Trincomalee]] !! style="vertical-align:bottom" rowspan=2 width="40"|Bonus<br />Seats !! colspan=3|Total
|-
! style="vertical-align:bottom; text-align:center" width="50"|Votes !! style="vertical-align:bottom; text-align:center" width="50"|% !! style="vertical-align:bottom; text-align:center" width="40"|Seats !!style="vertical-align:bottom; text-align:center" width="50"|Votes !! style="vertical-align:bottom; text-align:center" width="50"|% !! style="vertical-align:bottom; text-align:center" width="40"|Seats !! style="vertical-align:bottom; text-align:center" width="50"|Votes !! style="vertical-align:bottom; text-align:center" width="50"|% !! style="vertical-align:bottom; text-align:center" width="40"|Seats !! style="vertical-align:bottom; text-align:center" width="50"|Votes !! style="vertical-align:bottom; text-align:center" width="50"|% !! style="vertical-align:bottom; text-align:center" width="40"|Seats
|-
| style="background:{{party color|United People's Freedom Alliance}}" |  || style="text-align:left" |[[United People's Freedom Alliance]] ([[All Ceylon Muslim Congress|ACMC]], NC, [[Sri Lanka Freedom Party|SLFP]], [[Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal|TMVP]] et al.) || 144,247 || 52.96% || 8 || 105,341 || 58.09% || 6 || 59,298 || 42.99% || 4 || 2 || '''308,886''' || '''52.21%''' || {{Ref|1|[1]}}'''20'''
|-
| style="background:{{party color|United National Party}}" |  || style="text-align:left" |[[United National Party]] ([[Sri Lanka Muslim Congress|SLMC]], [[United National Party|UNP]]) || 121,272 || 44.52% || 6 || 58,602 || 32.31% || 4 || 70,858 || 51.37% || 5 || 0 || '''250,732''' || '''42.38%''' || '''15'''
|-
| style="background:{{party color|Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna}}" |  || style="text-align:left" |[[Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna]] || 4,745 || 1.74% || 0 || 379 || 0.21% || 0 || 4,266 || 3.09% || 1 || 0 || '''9,390''' || '''1.59%''' || '''1'''
|-
| style="background:{{party color|Tamil Democratic National Alliance}}" |  || style="text-align:left" |[[Tamil Democratic National Alliance]] ([[Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front|EPRLF(P)]], [[People's Liberation Organisation of Tamil Eelam|PLOTE]], [[Tamil United Liberation Front|TULF]] et al.) || || || || 7,714 || 4.25% || 1 || || || || 0 || '''7,714''' || '''1.30%''' || '''1'''
|-
| style="background:{{party color|Eelam People's Democratic Party}}" |  || style="text-align:left" |[[Eelam People's Democratic Party]] || || || || 5,418 || 2.99% || 0 || || || || 0 || '''5,418''' || '''0.92%''' || '''0'''
|-
| style="background:{{party color|Independent (politician)}}" |  || style="text-align:left" |[[Independent (politician)|Independent Groups]] || 737 || 0.27% || 0 || 823 || 0.45% || 0 || 1,073 || 0.78% || 0 || 0 || '''2,633''' || '''0.45%''' || '''0'''
|-
| || style="text-align:left" |[[United Socialist Party (Sri Lanka)|United Socialist Party]] || 296 || 0.11% || 0 || 943 || 0.52% || 0 || 1,309 || 0.95% || 0 || 0 || '''2,548''' || '''0.43%''' || '''0'''
|-
| style="background:{{party color|Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students}}" |  || style="text-align:left" |[[Eelavar Democratic Front]] ([[Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students|EROS]]) || || || || 1,816 || 1.00% || 0 || 459 || 0.33% || 0 || 0 || '''2,275''' || '''0.38%''' || '''0'''
|-
| || style="text-align:left" |United National Alliance || 597 || 0.22% || 0 || || || || || || || 0 || '''597''' || '''0.10%''' || '''0'''
|-
| || style="text-align:left" |[[People's Front of Liberation Tigers]] || 63 || 0.02% || 0 || 157 || 0.09% || 0 || 163 || 0.12% || 0 || 0 || '''383''' || '''0.06%''' || '''0'''
|-
| || style="text-align:left" |All Lanka Tamil United Front || || || || || || || 378 || 0.27% || 0 || 0 || '''378''' || '''0.06%''' || '''0'''
|-
| || style="text-align:left" |New Sinhala Heritage || 312 || 0.11% || 0 || || || || || || || 0 || '''312''' || '''0.05%''' || '''0'''
|-
| || style="text-align:left" |National Development Front || 100 || 0.04% || 0 || || || || 89 || 0.06% || 0 || 0 || '''189''' || '''0.03%''' || '''0'''
|-
| style="background:{{party color|Sinhalaye Mahasammatha Bhoomiputra Pakshaya}}" |  || style="text-align:left" |[[Sinhalaye Mahasammatha Bhoomiputra Pakshaya]] || 11 || 0.00% || 0 || 85 || 0.05% || 0 || 13 || 0.01% || 0 || 0 || '''109''' || '''0.02%''' || '''0'''
|-
| || style="text-align:left" |Muslim Liberation Front || || || || 39 || 0.02% || 0 || || || || 0 || '''39''' || '''0.01%''' || '''0'''
|-
| || style="text-align:left" |Sri Lanka National Front || || || || 21 || 0.01% || 0 || 9 || 0.01% || 0 || 0 || '''30''' || '''0.01%''' || '''0'''
|-
| || style="text-align:left" |Sri Lanka Progressive Front || || || || 17 || 0.01% || 0 || 9 || 0.01% || 0 || 0 || '''26''' || '''0.00%''' || '''0'''
|-
| || style="text-align:left" |Ruhuna People's Party || 9 || 0.00% || 0 || || || || 5 || 0.00% || 0 || 0 || '''14''' || '''0.00%''' || '''0'''
|-
| || style="text-align:left" |[[Liberal Party of Sri Lanka|Liberal Party]] || 3 || 0.00% || 0 || || || || || || || 0 || '''3''' || '''0.00%''' || '''0'''
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:left" |'''Valid Votes''' || '''272,392''' || '''100.00%''' || '''14''' || '''181,355''' || '''100.00%''' || '''11''' || '''137,929''' || '''100.00%''' || '''10''' || '''2''' || '''591,676''' || '''100.00%''' || '''37'''
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:left" |Rejected Votes || 20,997 || || || 21,088 || || || 12,695 || || || || 54,780 || ||
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:left" |Total Polled || 293,389 || || || 202,443 || || || 150,624 || || || || 646,456 || ||
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:left" |Registered Electors || 409,308 || || || 330,950 || || || 242,463 || || || || 982,721 || ||
|-
| colspan=2 style="text-align:left" |Turnout || 71.68% || || || 61.17% || || || 62.12% || || || || 65.78% || ||

|-
| style="background-color: #e9e9e9; text-align: left; border-right: none; font-size: smaller" colspan="15" | Source: [http://www.slelections.gov.lk/Provincial/2008/Eastern/districts.html Sri Lanka Department of Elections] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120219131931/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/Provincial/2008/Eastern/districts.html |date=2012-02-19 }}
Notes:
:1. {{Note|1}}Includes 2 bonus seats
|}<section end="Eastern" />

==Claims of election irregularities==
The [[United National Party]], [[Sri Lanka Muslim Congress]] and the [[Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna]] claimed that many incidents of election irregularities such as vote rigging was carried out by members of the [[United People's Freedom Alliance]] and the [[TamilEela Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal]] during election day.<ref>[http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2008/05/10/voters_in_eastern_sri_lanka_worry_about_future/ Sri Lanka elections marred by irregularities, By Ravi Nessman Associated Press Write]</ref><ref>[http://www.wtop.com/?nid=105&sid=1401655 Sri Lanka elections marred by irregularities, wtop.com]</ref><ref>[https://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7288942.stm Ex-Tamil Tigers win local polls, BBC]</ref> The UNP and the SLMC has made a petition challenging the result of Ampara district PC to the supreme court.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20080618114555/http://www.dailymirror.lk/DM_BLOG/Sections/frmNewsDetailView.aspx?ARTID=17581 AC issues notice for UNP-SLMC election petition]</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*[http://www.ep.gov.lk/ Eastern Provincial Council]
*[http://www.slelections.gov.lk/ Department of Elections, Sri Lanka] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100127234212/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/ |date=2010-01-27 }}

{{Sri Lankan elections}}

[[Category:Eastern Provincial Council]]
[[Category:2008–09 Sri Lankan provincial council elections]]
[[Category:Indian Peace Keeping Force]]
[[Category:May 2008 in Sri Lanka]]

2008 Sri Lanka Eastern Provincial Council election - Revision history

MarvinGrenier8 at 00:39, 31 December 2025