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| This article is part of a series on the |
| Politics of Sri Lanka |
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Parliamentary elections were held inCeylon in 1970.
SLFP leaderSirimavo Bandaranaike had come to the conclusion that her party's best hope of power was forming a permanent alliance with Ceylon'sMarxist parties. She assembled the SLFP, the TrotskyistLSSP, and theCommunists into theUnited Front coalition. The UF's platform was called theCommon Programme; it featured extensivenationalization, anon-aligned foreign policy, expanded social programmes, and replacement of the British-imposed,monarchicalSoulbury constitution with arepublican constitution.
TheUNP government ofDudley Senanayake had not made much headway with Ceylon's twin problems ofinflation andunemployment, nor had it attempted solving the linked problems offeudal property relations and adverseterms of trade byagrarian reform andindustrialisation. The UNP had become widely perceived as a party of the rich, out of touch with the concerns of ordinary people. The UF'ssocialist platform had much greater appeal.
The UF (with 49% of the vote) won an overwhelming majority, despite the UNP's plurality of the popular vote, due to the member parties running in different constituencies. TheTamil majority constituencies voted mainly for the two Tamil parties, one of which (theAll Ceylon Tamil Congress), later joined the UF.[citation needed]
The 1970 election was the last held under theSoulbury constitution. The UF Government established thefree,sovereign andindependentRepublic of Sri Lanka in 1972, breaking the last ties ofcolonialism.
TheBritish-ownedplantations werenationalised and there wasland reform – giving poor rural people land.Industrial democracy was instituted in thetransport andmanufacturing sectors. ANational pharmaceuticals policy was established, allowing for affordable drugs. A neweducation policy was followed, aimed at making education more relevant.
Increased protection led to growth in the manufacturing sector, particularly intextiles and garments,electronics andindustrial machinery.
| Party | Votes | % | Seats | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| United National Party | 1,892,525 | 37.91 | 17 | |
| Sri Lanka Freedom Party | 1,839,979 | 36.86 | 91 | |
| Lanka Sama Samaja Party | 433,224 | 8.68 | 19 | |
| Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi | 245,727 | 4.92 | 13 | |
| Communist Party of Ceylon | 169,199 | 3.39 | 6 | |
| All Ceylon Tamil Congress | 115,567 | 2.32 | 3 | |
| Mahajana Eksath Peramuna | 46,571 | 0.93 | 0 | |
| Independents | 249,006 | 4.99 | 2 | |
| Total | 4,991,798 | 100.00 | 151 | |
| Registered voters/turnout | 5,505,028 | – | ||
| Source:Kusaka Research Institute | ||||
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