1952 Ceylonese parliamentary election

1952 Ceylonese parliamentary election

24–30 May 1952
95 seats in the House of Representatives of Ceylon 48 seats were needed for a majority
First party Second party Third party   Leader Dudley Senanayake S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike N.M. Perera Party United National Party Sri Lanka Freedom Party Lanka Sama Samaja Party Leader since 1952 1951 1945 Leader's seat Dedigama Attanagalla Ruwanwella Last election 39.81%, 42 seats – 10.81%, 10 seats Seats won 54 9 9 Seat change 12 New 1 Popular vote 1,026,005 361,250 305,133 Percentage 44.08% 15.52% 13.11%
Prime Minister before election Dudley Senanayake United National Party Prime Minister-designate Dudley Senanayake United National Party

Parliamentary elections were held in Ceylon in 1952. It is notable for being the second and final election overseen and administered by the Department of Parliamentary Elections before its merger in 1955.

Background

Prime Minister D.S. Senanayake died in March 1952, and was succeeded by his son, Dudley. The national wave of mourning for Ceylon's first prime minister greatly boosted the UNP's fortunes.

The 1952 election was the first contested by the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, which had broken away from the UNP on a platform of Sinhala nationalism, and the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi (Federal Party), which split from the All Ceylon Tamil Congress over joining the UNP government.

Results

Because the estate Tamils had been stripped of their citizenship by the Senanayake government, the Ceylon Indian Congress, which most of them had supported, was eliminated from Parliament and the Lanka Sama Samaja Party lost seats. The UNP won a majority, mainly at the cost of the CIC and the LSSP.