Democracy, Elections and Political Participation
This domain tests the machinery of representative democracy in Sri Lanka: the franchise, the electoral system, the Election Commission, and the ways citizens participate between elections.
Core rules
- Universal adult suffrage has applied since 1931; the voting age is 18.
- Voting is by secret ballot. A voter registers in one electoral district only.
- The Elections Commission, established as an independent constitutional body, conducts elections and delimits constituencies.
- Parliamentary elections use proportional representation in electoral districts: 196 district seats plus 29 national-list seats, making 225 members.
- The President is elected for a five-year term and may serve a maximum of two terms.
- Local government elections use a mixed system combining ward representation with proportional representation.
Participation beyond voting
Joining a political party, contesting elections, attending peaceful assemblies under Article 14(1)(b), petitioning institutions, using the Right to Information Act No. 12 of 2016, and monitoring campaigns through the media all count as participation.
Worked example. A candidate polls 40,000 preference votes in a district but her party wins fewer district seats than her ranking suggests. Students often conclude she must enter Parliament. Reasoning: under the list system, seats are first allocated to parties by proportional count, and preference votes only order candidates within the party's allocation. If the party's share yields fewer seats, high preferences do not create an extra seat. National-list seats are filled from party lists, not by preference vote.
Traps that cost marks
- Believing preference votes alone guarantee a seat.
- Confusing national-list members, who are not directly elected, with district members.
- Forgetting that local government uses a mixed ward-plus-proportional system.
- Assuming the President may serve unlimited terms.