1975 Kankesanthurai Electoral District by-election

A by-election for the National State Assembly seat of the Kankesanthurai Electoral District, Jaffna District, Sri Lanka, was held on 6 February 1975.[1][2] The election was characterised by increased tension and marked a turning point in the emergence of Tamil militancy.

1975 Kankesanthurai Electoral District by-election
6 February 1975
Turnout86.68%
 
Candidate S. J. V. Chelvanayakam V. Ponnambalam
Party Tamil United Front Communist Party
Popular vote 25,927 9,457
Percentage 72.55% 26.46%
MP before election

S. J. V. Chelvanayakam
Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi

 Elected MP

S. J. V. Chelvanayakam
Tamil United Front

Background

The incumbent Member of Parliament, the Tamil United Front S.J.V. Chelvanayakam, had resigned from his seat in October 1972 in protest against the new Constitution. Chelvanayakam argued that the by-election would function as a test of whether the new Constitution enjoyed popular support or not.[2][3]

However the holding of the by-election was delayed. On 4 November 1973 Chelvayakam wrote to the Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike, assuring her that the election would be held without violent disturbances. As the election continued to be postponed, the Tamil movement grew more and more restless and gradually lost faith in the parliamentary process.[3]

Candidates

The final date for nominations was 7 January 1975.[1] In the end the by-poll was fought between Chelvanayakam and the Communist Party candidate V. Ponnambalam. Ponnambalam was the candidate of the governing United Front coalition.[4]

Rising tensions

The political climate in the Jaffna area (to which the constituency belonged) had become increasingly heated.[3] Calls for a separate Tamil homeland, 'Eelam', were heard from the electorate in run-up to the polls.[5] In the election campaign Chelvanayakam argued in favour of the Six Point Plan proposed by the Federal Party in 1972. Ponnambalam warned that a victory for Chelvanayakam would embolden separatist forces.[3] The Communist Party had pushed the Sri Lanka Freedom Party to agree that the demands for far-reaching autonomy (beyond the 1957 Bandaranaike–Chelvanayakam Pact) would be used in the electoral propaganda. However he promised printed material with this demand never arrived, to the frustration of Ponnambalam.[6]

The election campaign was marred with tension, and the government assigned a bodyguard for Ponnambalam for his protection.[7]

Amnesty

In 1974 forty-one Tamil youths, detained under emergency regulations, were released from jail in the run-up to the by-election. These amnesties on behalf of the government was a move seak appeasement.[8][9]

Result
CandidatePartySymbolVotes%
 S.J.V. ChelvanayakamTamil United FrontHouse25,92772.55%
 V. PonnampalamCommunist PartyStar9,45726.46%
M. AmbalavanarShip1850.52%
Valid Votes35,569100.00%
Rejected Votes168
Total Polled35,737
Registered Electors41,227
Turnout86.68%

[1]

Aftermath

Chelvanayakam had retained the seat with the biggest margin in the history of the constituency.[3] Chelvanayakam interpreted the election outcome as popular mandate for Tamil independence.[10] The statement made by Chelvanayakam on 7 February 1975 would mark a turning point in the history of the country, in which he justified the call for Tamil sovereignty.[11][12] This statement marked the first formal pledge for a sovereign Tamil Eelam state.[13]

Subsequently the name of TUF was changed to 'Tamil United Liberation Front'.[10] In parliament, however, Chelvanayakam was not allowed to table his proposal for 'Eelam'.[5]

The by-election marked the end for the aspirations of the Sri Lankan left-wing in the North. However the vote for Ponnambalam was substantial, compared to the popular rejection in the area of Bandaranaike's government at time. Ponnambalam later stated that he regretted having stood in the election.[6] The election left him disillusioned with the Communist Party and the United Front, and he left withdrew from it.[6]

References
  1. "Summary of By-Elections 1947 to 1988" (PDF). Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. Archived from the original (PDF) on 9 December 2009.
  2. K. M. De Silva (1986). Managing ethnic tensions in multi-ethnic societies: Sri Lanka, 1880–1985. University Press of America. p. 258. ISBN 978-0-8191-5397-5.
  3. A. Jeyaratnam Wilson (January 1994). S.J.V. Chelvanayakam and the Crisis of Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism, 1947–1977: A Political Biography. C. Hurst & Co. Publishers. p. 123. ISBN 978-1-85065-130-7.
  4. Wilson, A. Jeyaratnam (January 1988). The Break-up of Sri Lanka: The Sinhalese-Tamil Conflict. C. Hurst & Co. p. 88. ISBN 978-1-85065-033-1.
  5. Strategic Analysis. Institute for Defense Studies and Analyses. April 1984. p. 411.
  6. Hoole, Rajan; Thiranagama, Rajini (January 2001). "Chapter 3 – 1979 – 83: The Mounting Repression". Sri Lanka: the arrogance of power : myths, decadence & murder. University Teachers for Human Rights. pp. 11, 46. ISBN 978-955-9447-04-7. Ponnambalam expressed his regrets at having contested the 1975 election against such a venerable figure as S.J.V. Chelvanayakam
  7. Mahavalirajan, Rajan (November 2009). Tamil/Transnationalism a Convenient Concept. AuthorHouse. pp. 16–20. ISBN 978-1-4490-2005-7.
  8. M. R. Narayan Swamy (1 January 2002). Tigers of Lanka, from boys to guerrillas. Konark Publishers. p. 27.
  9. Gāmiṇi Samaranāyaka (2008). Political Violence in Sri Lanka, 1971–1987. Gyan Publishing House. p. 216. ISBN 978-81-212-1003-4.
  10. Asoka Bandarage (6 November 2008). The Separatist Conflict in Sri Lanka: Terrorism, ethnicity, political economy. Taylor & Francis. p. 71. ISBN 978-0-203-88631-1.
  11. B. Raman; Observer Research Foundation. Chennai Chapter (1 January 2006). Sri Lanka, peace without process. Saṁskṛiti in association with Observer Research Foundation. p. 69. ISBN 978-81-87374-47-3.
  12. Daniel Bar-Tal (18 March 2013). Intractable Conflicts: Socio-Psychological Foundations and Dynamics. Cambridge University Press. p. 179. ISBN 978-0-521-86708-5.
  13. V. Suryanarayan (1 January 1991). Sri Lankan Crisis and India's Response. Patriot Publishers. p. 42. ISBN 978-81-7050-141-1.
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