Mullaitivu Electoral District was anelectoral district ofSri Lanka betweenJuly 1977 andFebruary 1989. The district was named after the town ofMullaitivu inMullaitivu District,Northern Province. The1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced theproportional representation electoral system forelectingmembers ofParliament. The existing 160 mainlysingle-member electoral districts were replaced with 22multi-memberelectoral districts.[1] Mullaitivu electoral district was replaced by theVanni multi-member electoral district at the1989 general elections, the first under the PR system, though Mullaitivu continues to be a polling division of the multi-member electoral district.
Key
| Election | Member | Party | Term | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1977 | X. M. Sellathambu | Tamil United Liberation Front | 1977-1989 | |
Results of the8th parliamentary election held on 21 July 1977 for the district:[2]
| Candidate | Party | Symbol | Votes | % | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| X. M. Sellathambu | Tamil United Liberation Front | Sun | 10,261 | 52.36% | |
| P. Chandrasekar | Independent | Pair of Scales | 7,632 | 38.95% | |
| R. Vickkinarasa | Ladder | 977 | 4.99% | ||
| V. Santhirasenan | Bell | 726 | 3.70% | ||
| Valid Votes | 19,596 | 100.00% | |||
| Rejected Votes | 76 | ||||
| Total Polled | 19,672 | ||||
| Registered Electors | 24,698 | ||||
| Turnout | 79.65% | ||||
X. M. Sellathambu and all other TULF MPs boycotted Parliament from the middle of 1983 for a number of reasons: they were under pressure fromSri Lankan Tamil militants not to stay in Parliament beyond their normal six-year term; the Sixth Amendment to theConstitution of Sri Lanka required them to swear an oath unconditionally renouncing support for aseparate state; and theBlack July riots in which up to 3,000 Tamils were murdered bySinhalese mobs. After three months of absence, Sellathambu forfeited his seat in Parliament on 21 October 1983.[3]