Lowest voter turnout for General Election in 14 years: Lack of strong campaign by the opposition leads to low turnout

• Declaration of Thursday as polling day instead of the weekend may have also discouraged voters in some instances
• PAFFREL Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi said the lack of a strong campaign by the opposition was one of the reasons for a low turnout

By Kelum Bandara and Yohan Perera

The voter turnout at yesterday’s General Election, estimated at only 60-65 percent, marked the lowest in 15 years according to the Commission of Elections and observers, attributed to multiple factors leading to voter apathy, both political and apolitical.  

People’s Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) estimates the voter turnout at 60 to 62 percent.  

The voter turnout at the General Election 2020 was 75 percent while the turnout for the General Election in 2015 was reported to be 77. The turnout at the 2010 General Election has been 64 percent.  

PAFFREL Executive Director Rohana Hettiarachchi said the lack of a strong campaign by the opposition was one of the reasons for a low turnout. “Turnout for the Presidential election was high as it was an election which was held in the country since 2020. People used the Presidential election to express their anger and frustration. This was not the case with the General Election,” he told Daily Mirror.   The turnout at the Presidential Election of 2015, 2020 was more than 80 percent while it was little over 75 percent in the 2024 Presidential Election.  

Following the introduction of the current electoral system of proportional representation in terms of the 1978 Constitution, turnouts at the general elections have averaged around 75 percent except in 1989 and 2010 when it remained at 63 percent and 61 percent respectively.   

According to Executive Director of IRES (Institute for Democratic Reforms and Electoral Studies) Manjula Gajanayake, the declaration of Thursday as polling day instead of a weekend also discouraged voters in some instances. He said it was an unwise decision by the authorities concerned.   

“People were unable to get leave at some places for voting, “ he said.  

Besides, people’s weariness of elections in the immediate aftermath of the Presidential election and the election to the Elpitiya Pradeshiya Sabha would have  led to low turnout, according to him.  

“Besides, a number of known politicians were absent in the fray. It might have discouraged their diehard followers to turn up for voting,” he said.