1917 Ceylonese Legislative Council election
The second election to the Legislative Council of Ceylon was held on 20 January 1917.
Background:
- In 1833, the Colebrooke-Cameron Commission created the Legislative Council as the first step toward representative government in British Ceylon.
- Initially, the Council had 16 members: the British Governor, five official members of the Executive Council, four other officials, and six unofficial members (three Europeans, one Sinhalese, one Tamil, one Burgher).
- In 1889, unofficial members increased to eight: three Europeans, one Low Country Sinhalese, one Kandyan Sinhalese, one Tamil, one Muslim, and one Burgher.
- The 1910 McCallum Reforms expanded the Council to 21 members (11 official and 10 unofficial). The unofficial group included two elected Europeans, one elected Burgher, one elected educated Ceylonese, and six appointed members: two Low Country Sinhalese, two Tamils, one Kandyan Sinhalese, and one Muslim.
Less than 3,000 Ceylonese were eligible to vote for the four elected unofficial members.
This page was last edited on 2 February 2026, at 12:46 (CET).