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Unexpected third force in Parliament
The Eleventh Parliament was a short-lived one - just under one year. Following the crossover of eight Government MPs including two influential ministers - S.B. Dissanayake and Professor G.L. Peiris - to the Opposition, Parliament was dissolved on October 10, 2001. Elections were fixed for December 5, 2001 - the second to be held within the short space of 14 months. Normally a General Election is held once in six years.

While the ruling People's Alliance (PA) decided to contest under the same banner, the UNP formed the United National Front (UNF) with Arumugam Thondaman's Ceylon Workers' Congress (CWC) and the Up-country People's Front led by P. Chandrasekeran. Some members of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) contested as UNP candidates. The PA breakaway group also formed part of the UNF with some contesting as UNP candidates while Messrs, Dissanayake and Peiris, were to be nominated from the UNP National List.

In all, 4,610 candidates from 26 political parties and 120 independent groups contested the General Election. The escalation of the North East war with peace talks initiated by President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga breaking down, became the major issue during the elections. A war weary nation voted in Ranil Wickremesinghe's UNF which sought a mandate for peace and talks with the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE). The UNF won 21 out of the 22 Electoral Districts, with the PA winning only the Monaragala district.

The UNF won 96 seats and gained 13 bonus seats making a total of 109 seats in the 225- member Parliament. With five members of the SLMC (4 elected and 1 bonus), the UNF secured 114 seats - one more than the requisite 113 seats to form a majority in Parliament. The PA won 66 seats with 11 bonus seats (77) while the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) increased their tally from 10 to 16 (13 elected and 3 bonus). The balance went to the Tamil United Liberation Front -TULF 15 (14+1), Eelam People's Democratic Party-EPDP 2 and Democratic People's Liberation Front - DPLF 1.

UNF leader Ranil Wickremesinghe was sworn in as Prime Minister on December 9. A 25-member Cabinet of Ministers was appointed on December 13 along with 26 non-Cabinet rank ministers and 9 deputy ministers. At the first sittings of Parliament on December 19, Joseph Michael Perera (UNP-Gampaha) was unanimously elected Speaker.

Outgoing Prime Minister Ratnasiri Wickremanayake was chosen Leader of the Opposition. He was succeeded by Mahinda Rajapakse (PA-Hambantota) on February 6, 2002 when he resigned due to ill health. For the first time, the President, the Executive and Parliament, the Legislature belonged to two different political parties. A cohabitation arrangement was thus necessary for a smooth administration.

The UNF Government entered into a ceasefire agreement on February 22, 2002 with the LTTE. Six rounds of talks were held with Norwegian facilitation over the ensuing months but the talks ran into snags and reached a stalemate when the LTTE walked out on the negotiations in April 2003.

When President Kumaratunga constitutionally took over three key ministries - Defence, Interior and Mass Communication- on November 4, 2003, it became clear that a cohabitation arrangement was not going to work. President Kumaratunga dissolved Parliament on February 7, 2004 and fixed elections for April 2. Former PA Ministers Lakshman Kadirgamar and D.M. Jayaratne were named Ministers of Information & Telecommunications, and Posts & Communication respectively.

Meanwhile, the PA entered into an alliance with the JVP and formed the United Peoples Freedom Alliance (UPFA). Nomination week saw 5,698 candidates (an increase of 1,088 from the 2001 elections) from 24 recognised political parties and 192 independent groups handing in nominations. The number of registered voters had risen to 12,899,038 - an increase of 470,256.

The emergence of a new political force - the Jathika Hela Urumaya comprising of monks promising to set up a Dharma Rajya based on Buddhist principles - was a significant feature at the 2004 April General Election. It was equally significant that with a restricted campaign running for a mere 35 days when they conducted Bodu Samulu (Buddhist Conventions) in major towns, they obtained 9 seats (7 elected and 2 bonus) and became an influential third force. They also desisted from using posters and other display materials promoting candidates.

The strict adherence to election laws by the Police, particularly in not allowing the display of posters in public places, led to a drastic reduction in the number of clashes and incidents of violence. It was accepted that the elections, on the whole, were free and fair.

The UNFA won 92 seats at electoral level and with 13 bonus seats, had a final tally of 105. The UNP had 71 elected members and 11 bonus seats (82). The Tamil National Alliance (contesting as Ilankai Thamil Arasu Kachchi) had 22 (20 elected and 2 bonus), the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) 9 (7+2), SLMC 5 (4+1), and Up-country People's Front (UPF) & Eelam Peoples Democratic Party (EPDP) one elected member each.

A minority government was formed with Mahinda Rajapakse (UNFA/SLFP - Hambantota being appointed Prime Minister. The inaugural sitting of the 13th Parliament was on Thursday, April 22, 2004.
This series is now concluded

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