Colombo, Gampaha gain parliamentary seats as 2026 electoral register adds 90,835 voters

By The Pulseline News Desk

The Election Commission has certified the 2026 electoral register, recording a total of 17,641,006 qualified voters, an increase of 90,835 compared to the previous year’s register.

The increase in the electorate has also prompted changes to the allocation of parliamentary seats among several electoral districts, reflecting shifts in the proportion of registered voters across the country.

Under the revised allocation, Colombo and Gampaha districts will each gain an additional parliamentary seat, increasing their representation from 18 to 19 seats.

In contrast, Jaffna and Badulla districts will lose one seat each. Jaffna’s allocation will decrease from seven to six seats, while Badulla’s representation will fall from nine to eight.

The changes have been made in accordance with the statutory framework governing the distribution of parliamentary representation, which takes into account the population and electoral proportions of individual districts.

The revised allocations will affect the distribution of parliamentary representation at future General Elections, with the Western Province districts of Colombo and Gampaha gaining greater representation.

The Election Commission is expected to formally publish the revised seat allocations through an Extraordinary Gazette notification.

The certification of the 2026 electoral register marks the latest annual update to the country’s voter database, which determines the electorate eligible to participate in national and other elections.

The increase of 90,835 registered voters highlights the continued expansion of Sri Lanka’s electorate, while the revised district allocations underline the changing geographical distribution of voter representation.