The Hon. (Prof.) A.H.M.H. Abayarathna - Minister of Public Administration, Provincial Councils and Local Government

¶ 01 Hon. Deputy Speaker, I table the Answer.

¶ 02 (a)

¶ 03 (i) The Department of Census and Statistics does not use the concept of “family” in data collection; instead, it uses “housing unit” and “household.” Accordingly, as per the Population and Housing Census conducted in 2024, there are 6 million occupied housing units and 6.1 million households in Sri Lanka.

¶ 04 (ii) Yes.

¶ 05 (iii) When several households share one housing unit, registration is done by assigning extensions in parentheses alongside the house number to uniquely identify each household. For example, if the house number is 27 and there are three households in that housing unit, they are registered as 27(1), 27(2), 27(3). Since the commencement of the Registration of Electors Act, No. 44 of 1980, the Election Commission has instructed Grama Niladharis, as appropriate, to base house identification on assessment numbers or food controller number lists when necessary.

¶ 06 Further, when a new house not appearing on such lists is added, the Grama Niladhari is instructed, under the revision of the electoral register, to assign a suffix to the existing nearby number; e.g., if the nearest house number is 27, the new house is numbered 27/1.

¶ 07 Regarding inclusion in the electoral register under a given house, an elector must have ordinary residence at that house. Accordingly, a person may have more than one ordinary place of residence, but legal provisions allow registration as an elector at only one address selected by the applicant. Under these provisions, members of a family unit—husband, wife and children—may, depending on their ordinary residence, be registered under separate houses rather than as a single household in one house.

¶ 08 Instructions have also been issued to Grama Niladharis during electoral register revisions to treat a person’s ordinary residence as the place where he/she lives with family members and conducts daily affairs, and, to prevent multiple registrations, to register, as far as possible, one housing unit under one address.

¶ 09 (iv) Yes.

¶ 10 (v) Yes.

¶ 11 (vi) Registration of electors is carried out under the Constitution and the provisions of the Registration of Electors Act, No. 44 of 1980 as amended by Act No. 22 of 2021. Accordingly, the electoral register is prepared based on a canvass. Therefore, when any external party makes decisions relying on data from the electoral register, attention must be paid to the legal provisions of the Registration of Electors and the instructions of the Election Commission, which are determinative.

¶ 12 (vii) Not applicable.

¶ 13 (b) Not applicable.