Rathgama Electoral District Explained

Rathgama electoral district was an electoral district of Sri Lanka between March 1960 and February 1989. The district was named after the town of Rathgama in Galle District, Southern Province. The 1978 Constitution of Sri Lanka introduced the proportional representation electoral system for electing members of Parliament. The existing 160 mainly single-member electoral districts were replaced with 22 multi-member electoral districts.^[1] Rathgama electoral district was replaced by the Galle multi-member electoral district at the 1989 general elections.

Members of Parliament

Key

Election		Member	Party	Term
	1960 (March)	M. P. de Zoysa	MEP
	1960 (July)
	1961 by-election	Edwin Tillekeratne	SLFP
	1965
	1970	M. G. Mendis	LSSP
	1977	Edwin Tillekeratne	UNP

Elections

1960 (March) Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 4th parliamentary election held on 19 March 1960:^[2]

align=left width="180"	Candidate!	align=left width="180"	Party!	align=left width="120"	Symbol!	align=left width="60"	Votes!	align=left width="60"	%
		Hand	7,700	29.84
		Elephant	6,938	26.89
		Star	5,781	22.41
Barbet de Silva		Key	3,874	15.01
Sampson Senanayake		Umbrella	1,183	4.59
M. J. Mendis		Flower	189	0.73
align=left colspan=3	Valid Votes	25,665	99.47
align=left colspan=3	Rejected Votes	136	0.53
align=left colspan=3	Total Polled	25,801	100.00
align=left colspan=3	Registered Electors	33,492
align=left colspan=4	Turnout	77.04

1960 (July) Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 5th parliamentary election held on 20 July 1960:^[3]

align=left width="180"	Candidate!	align=left width="180"	Party!	align=left width="120"	Symbol!	align=left width="60"	Votes!	align=left width="60"	%
		Hand	11,583	47.12
Norman Waidyaratne		Elephant	9,390	38.20
T. W. Panditha		Cartwheel	2,390	9.72
K. G. P. Jayatilake		Eye	1,121	4.56
align=left colspan=3	Valid Votes	24,484	99.61
align=left colspan=3	Rejected Votes	97	0.39
align=left colspan=3	Total Polled	24,581	100.00
align=left colspan=3	Registered Electors	33,492
align=left colspan=4	Turnout	73.39

1961 Parliamentary By Election

Following the resignation of M. P. de Zoysa, who accepted a position in the senate, a by election for the seat was held on 29 March 1961:^[4]

align=left width="180"	Candidate!	align=left width="180"	Party!	align=left width="120"	Symbol!	align=left width="60"	Votes!	align=left width="60"	%
		Hand	10,061	46.95
Norman Waidyaratne		Elephant	9,646	45.01
		Star	6,816	31.80
K. Justin de Silva		Cartwheel	512	2.39
align=left colspan=3	Valid Votes	21,347	99.61
align=left colspan=3	Rejected Votes	84	0.39
align=left colspan=3	Total Polled	21,431	100.00
align=left colspan=3	Registered Electors	33,492
align=left colspan=4	Turnout	63.99

1965 Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 6th parliamentary election held on 22 March 1965:^[5]

align=left width="180"	Candidate!	align=left width="180"	Party!	align=left width="120"	Symbol!	align=left width="60"	Votes!	align=left width="60"	%
		Sun	15,696	47.68
		Star	14,813	44.99
		Lamp	2,545	7.73
align=left colspan=3	Valid Votes	32,727	99.42
align=left colspan=3	Rejected Votes	191	0.58
align=left colspan=3	Total Polled	32,918	100.00
align=left colspan=3	Registered Electors	40,242
align=left colspan=4	Turnout	81.80

1970 Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 7th parliamentary election held on 27 May 1970:^[6]

align=left width="180"	Candidate!	align=left width="180"	Party!	align=left width="120"	Symbol!	align=left width="60"	Votes!	align=left width="60"	%
	Lanka Sama Samaja Party	Star	24,644	64.79
		Elephant	13,017	34.22
Hemachcndra Godage		Scales	152	0.4
H. K. Martin Mendis Rajapakse		Cockerel	120	0.32
align=left colspan=3	Valid Votes	37,933	99.73
align=left colspan=3	Rejected Votes	102	0.27
align=left colspan=3	Total Polled	38,035	100.00
align=left colspan=3	Registered Electors	43,536
align=left colspan=4	Turnout	87.36

1977 Parliamentary General Election

Results of the 8th parliamentary election held on 21 July 1977:^[7]

align=left width="180"	Candidate!	align=left width="180"	Party!	align=left width="120"	Symbol!	align=left width="60"	Votes!	align=left width="60"	%
		Elephant	22,486	53.25
		Star	15,734	37.26
		Eye	3,449	8.17
E. H. Panditharatne		Scales	446	1.06
align=left colspan=3	Valid Votes	42,115	99.73
align=left colspan=3	Rejected Votes	113	0.27
align=left colspan=3	Total Polled	42,228	100.00
align=left colspan=3	Registered Electors	48,840
align=left colspan=4	Turnout	86.46

Notes and References

1. Web site: The Electoral System. Parliament of Sri Lanka.
2. Web site: Result of Parliamentary General Election 19 March 1960. Department of Elections, Sri Lanka.
3. Web site: Result of Parliamentary General Election 20 July 1960. Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. 24 May 2017.
4. Web site: Results of the Parliamentary By Elections between 1947 and 1988. Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. 24 May 2017.
5. Web site: Result of Parliamentary General Election 1965. Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. 24 May 2017.
6. Web site: Result of Parliamentary General Election 1970. Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. 24 May 2017.
7. Web site: Result of Parliamentary General Election 1977. Department of Elections, Sri Lanka. 24 May 2017.