View source for All Ceylon Tamil Congress

{{Cleanup rewrite|date=August 2020}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2020}}
{{Infobox political party
| name             = All Ceylon Tamil Congress
| native_name      = Akila Ilankai Thamil Congress<br />அகில இலங்கைத் தமிழ்க் காங்கிரஸ்<br />අකිල ඉලංකෙයි තමිල් කොංග්‍රස්
| lang1            = Tamil
| name_lang1       = 
| lang2            = 
| name_lang2       = 
| logo             = 
| colorcode        = Yellow
| leader           = 
| chairperson      = 
| president        = 
| secretary_general = 
| founder          = [[G. G. Ponnambalam]]
| leader1_title    = Secretary
| leader1_name     = [[Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam]]
| slogan           = 
| founded          = {{start date and age|df=yes|p=y|1944|08|29}}
| dissolved        = 
| merger           = 
| split            = 
| predecessor      = 
| merged           = 
| successor        = 
| headquarters     = 15 Queen's Road, Colpetty, [[Colombo]] 3
| newspaper        = 
| student_wing     = 
| youth_wing       = 
| membership_year  = 
| membership       = 
| ideology         = [[Sri Lankan Tamil Nationalism|Tamil nationalism]]
| religion         = 
| national         = [[Tamil National People's Front]]
| international    = 
| european         = 
| europarl         = 
| affiliation1_title = 
| affiliation1     = 
| colors           = 
| seats1_title     = Parliament
| seats1           = {{Composition bar|1
|225|{{party color|Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi}}}}
| seats2_title     = Provincial Council
| seats2           = 
| seats3_title     = [[Local government in Sri Lanka|Local Government]]
| seats3           = {{Infobox political party/seats|101|7842|{{party color|Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi}}}}           
| symbol           = Bicycle <br/>[[File:Election Symbol Akila Ilankai Thamil Congress Sri Lanka.png]]
| flag             = [[File:Bandera All Ceylon Tamil Congress.svg|150px]]
| website          = 
| country          = Sri Lanka
| footnotes        = 
}}
'''All Ceylon Tamil Congress''' ({{langx|ta|அகில இலங்கைத் தமிழ்க் காங்கிரஸ்}}) is the oldest [[Tamil people|Tamil]] [[political party]] in [[Sri Lanka]].

==History==
The ACTC was founded in 1944 by [[G. G. Ponnambalam]]. Ponnambalam asked for a 50-50 representation in [[Parliament of Sri Lanka|parliament]] (50% for the majority [[Sinhalese people|Sinhalese]], and 50% for ''all'' other ethnic groups).<ref>[http://pact.lk/2008/03/24/november-1948/ November 1948] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090119132404/http://pact.lk/2008/03/24/november-1948/ |date=January 19, 2009 }}, Peace and Conflict Timeline</ref> This was immediately rejected by the British Governor General [[Herwald Ramsbotham, 1st Viscount Soulbury|Lord Soulbury]] as a "mockery of [[democracy]]".{{Citation needed|date=March 2010}}

Due to the cooperation of the ACTC with the [[United National Party]] (UNP), a group led by [[S. J. V. Chelvanayakam]] split from the ACTC in 1949, forming the [[Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi]] (ITAK), commonly known as Federal Party. The ACTC was largely discredited when the UNP began to move away from bilingual and bicommunal policies and more towards [[Sinhalese Buddhist nationalism]]. As a result, the ITAK overtook the ACTC as the main Tamil party in the country in [[1956 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1956]].{{fact|date=July 2020}}

In 1972 the ACTC and ITAK formed the Tamil United Front, which later evolved into the [[Tamil United Liberation Front]] in 1976. The TULF would win 18 out of the 168 seats in the National State Assembly in the [[1977 Sri Lankan parliamentary election|1977 general elections]], thus making it the main opposition party.{{fact|date=July 2020}}

Ahead of the [[2001 Sri Lankan parliamentary election|2001 general elections]], the ACTC joined the [[Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam|LTTE]]-backed [[Tamil National Alliance]] (TNA). In the [[2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election|2004 elections]], the TNA won 6.9% of the popular vote and 22 out of the 225 seats in parliament.{{fact|date=July 2020}}

The ACTC left the TNA in 2010 and subsequently formed a new political alliance, the [[Tamil National People's Front]].{{fact|date=July 2020}}

==Leaders==
Leaders of the All Ceylon Tamil Congress:
* [[G. G. Ponnambalam]] (Sr.)
* [[Kumar Ponnambalam]]
* Dr. [[Nalliah Kumaraguruparan]]
* [[A. Vinayagamoorthy]]
* [[Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam]]

==1947 Parliamentary General Election==
In the [[1947 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1947 election]], the first for the independent [[Ceylon]], the ACTC won 4.37% of the popular vote and 7 out of 95 seats in the [[Sri Lankan parliament]].

'''Votes and seats won by ACTC by electoral district'''
{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:right;" 
|-
! align=left width="100"|Electoral District!!align=left width="60"|Votes!!align=left width="60"|%!!align=left width="40"|Seats!!align=left width="60"|Turnout!!align=left width="190"|ACTC MP
|-
| align=left|[[Chavakacheri Electoral District|Chavakachcheri]]||11,813||85.51%||1||49.34%||align=left|[[V. Kumaraswamy|V. Kumarasamy]]
|-
| align=left|[[Jaffna Electoral District (1947–1989)|Jaffna]]||14,324||73.28%||1||46.26%||align=left|[[G. G. Ponnambalam]]
|-
| align=left|[[Kankesanthurai Electoral District|Kankesanthurai]]||12,126||55.39%||1||57.69%||align=left|[[S. J. V. Chelvanayakam]]
|-
| align=left|[[Kayts Electoral District|Kayts]]||5,230||29.21%||0||55.69%||
|-
| align=left|[[Kopay Electoral District|Kopay]]||9,619||58.90%||1||50.33%||align=left|[[C. Vanniasingam]]
|-
| align=left|[[Point Pedro Electoral District|Point Pedro]]||10,396||43.51%||1||58.39%||align=left|T. Ramalingam
|-
| align=left|[[Trincomalee Electoral District (1947–1989)|Trincomalee]]||5,252||56.15%||1||56.10%||align=left|[[S. Sivapalan]]
|-
| align=left|[[Vaddukoddai Electoral District|Vaddukoddai]]||11,721||61.24%||1||52.00%||align=left|K. Kanagaratnam
|-
| align=left|[[Vavuniya Electoral District|Vavuniya]]||2,018||33.39%||0||55.64%||
|-
| align=left|'''Total'''||'''82,499'''||'''4.37%'''||'''7'''||||
|-
|align=left colspan=6|Source:<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091209231847/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1947%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF Result of Parliamentary General Election 1947, Department of Elections] </ref>
|}

==1952 Parliamentary General Election==
In the [[1952 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1952 election]] the ACTC won 2.77% of the popular vote and 4 out of 95 seats in the [[Sri Lankan parliament]].

'''Votes and seats won by ACTC by electoral district'''
{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:right;" 
|-
! align=left width="100"|Electoral District!!align=left width="60"|Votes!!align=left width="60"|%!!align=left width="40"|Seats!!align=left width="60"|Turnout!!align=left width="190"|ACTC MP
|-
| align=left|[[Chavakacheri Electoral District|Chavakachcheri]]||14,801||72.33%||1||67.22%||align=left|V. Kumarasamy
|-
| align=left|[[Jaffna Electoral District (1947–1989)|Jaffna]]||12,726||60.48%||1||71.66%||align=left|[[G. G. Ponnambalam]]
|-
| align=left|[[Kayts Electoral District|Kayts]]||9,517||43.44%||1||73.36%||align=left|Alfred Thambiayah
|-
| align=left|[[Kopay Electoral District|Kopay]]||9,200||43.88%||0||64.57%||
|-
| align=left|[[Point Pedro Electoral District|Point Pedro]]||11,609||41.54%||1||65.80%||align=left|T. Ramalingam
|-
| align=left|[[Vaddukoddai Electoral District|Vaddukoddai]]||5,261||22.64%||0||69.54%||
|-
| align=left|[[Vavuniya Electoral District|Vavuniya]]||1,398||15.52%||0||69.59%||
|-
| align=left|'''Total'''||'''64,512'''||'''2.77%'''||'''4'''||||
|-
|align=left colspan=6|Source:<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091209231904/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1952%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF Result of Parliamentary General Election 1952, Department of Elections] </ref>
|}

==1956 Parliamentary General Election==
In the [[1956 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1956 election]] the ACTC fielded only one [[candidate]], party leader [[G.G. Ponnambalam]] in [[Jaffna Electoral District (1947–1989)|Jaffna]], who managed to win the seat with 8,914 votes.<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091209232204/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1956%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF Result of Parliamentary General Election 1956, Department of Elections] </ref>

==1960 (March) Parliamentary General Election==
In the [[March 1960 Ceylonese parliamentary election|March 1960 election]] the ACTC won 1.32% of the popular vote and 1 out of 151 seats in the [[Sri Lankan parliament]].

'''Votes and seats won by ACTC by electoral district'''
{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:right;" 
|-
! align=left width="100"|Electoral District!!align=left width="60"|Votes!!align=left width="60"|%!!align=left width="40"|Seats!!align=left width="60"|Turnout!!align=left width="190"|ACTC MP
|-
| align=left|[[Chavakacheri Electoral District|Chavakachcheri]]||6,930||32.52%||0||83.20%||
|-
| align=left|[[Jaffna Electoral District (1947–1989)|Jaffna]]||5,312||30.56%||0||71.91%||
|-
| align=left|[[Kankesanthurai Electoral District|Kankesanthurai]]||1,448||7.23%||0||71.22%||
|-
| align=left|[[Kopay Electoral District|Kopay]]||4,936||23.35%||0||77.13%||
|-
| align=left|[[Nallur Electoral District|Nallur]]||6,808||34.82%||0||73.12%||
|-
| align=left|[[Point Pedro Electoral District|Point Pedro]]||2,521||17.91%||0||73.33%||
|-
| align=left|[[Udupiddy Electoral District|Udupiddy]]||7,365||34.70%||1||74.84%||align=left|[[M. Sivasithamparam]]
|-
| align=left|[[Vaddukoddai Electoral District|Vaddukoddai]]||2,955||13.72%||0||75.37%||
|-
| align=left|'''Total'''||'''38,275'''||'''1.32%'''||'''1'''||||
|-
|align=left colspan=6|Source:<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091209231748/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1960_03_19%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF Result of Parliamentary General Election 1960-03-19, Department of Elections] </ref>
|}

==1960 (July) Parliamentary General Election==
In the [[July 1960 Ceylonese parliamentary election|July 1960 election]] the ACTC won 1.66% of the popular vote and 1 out of 151 seats in the [[Sri Lankan parliament]].<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091209232020/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1960_07_20%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF Result of Parliamentary General Election 1960-07-20, Department of Elections] </ref>

==1965 Parliamentary General Election==
In the [[1965 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1965 election]] the ACTC won 2.44% of the popular vote and 3 out of 151 seats in the [[Sri Lankan parliament]].

'''Votes and seats won by ACTC by electoral district'''
{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:right;" 
|-
! align=left width="100"|Electoral District!!align=left width="60"|Votes!!align=left width="60"|%!!align=left width="40"|Seats!!align=left width="60"|Turnout!!align=left width="190"|ACTC MP
|-
| align=left|[[Batticaloa Electoral District (1947–1989)|Batticaloa]]||8,107||12.14%||0||150.59%||
|-
| align=left|[[Chavakacheri Electoral District|Chavakachcheri]]||7,191||30.59%||0||77.92%||
|-
| align=left|[[Jaffna Electoral District (1947–1989)|Jaffna]]||9,350||42.37%||1||77.76%||align=left|[[G. G. Ponnambalam]]
|-
| align=left|[[Kalkudah Electoral District|Kalkudah]]||3,354||19.38%||0||72.70%||
|-
| align=left|[[Kankesanthurai Electoral District|Kankesanthurai]]||6,611||26.13%||0||72.42%||
|-
| align=left|[[Kayts Electoral District|Kayts]]||5,816||30.02%||0||61.49%||
|-
| align=left|[[Kilinochchi Electoral District|Kilinochchi]]||4,076||30.76%||0||71.33%||
|-
| align=left|[[Kopay Electoral District|Kopay]]||8,230||34.34%||0||72.90%||
|-
| align=left|[[Mutur Electoral District|Mutur]]||327||0.58%||0||150.92%||
|-
| align=left|[[Nallur Electoral District|Nallur]]||9,860||43.12%||0||72.03%||
|-
| align=left|[[Point Pedro Electoral District|Point Pedro]]||6,614||40.43%||0||71.62%||
|-
| align=left|[[Udupiddy Electoral District|Udupiddy]]||12,009||46.67%||1||75.47%||align=left|[[M. Sivasithamparam]]
|-
| align=left|[[Uduvil Electoral District|Uduvil]]||5,577||23.29%||0||72.80%||
|-
| align=left|[[Vaddukoddai Electoral District|Vaddukoddai]]||4,359||17.09%||0||69.83%||
|-
| align=left|[[Vavuniya Electoral District|Vavuniya]]||7,265||40.33%||1||73.45%||align=left|[[T. Sivasithamparam]]
|-
| align=left|'''Total'''||'''98,746'''||'''2.44%'''||'''3'''||||
|-
|align=left colspan=6|Source:<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091209231813/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1965%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF Result of Parliamentary General Election 1965, Department of Elections] </ref>
|}

==1970 Parliamentary General Election==
In the [[1970 Ceylonese parliamentary election|1970 election]] the ACTC won 2.32% of the popular vote and 3 out of 151 seats in the [[Sri Lankan parliament]].

'''Votes and seats won by ACTC by electoral district'''
{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:right;" 
|-
! align=left width="100"|Electoral District!!align=left width="60"|Votes!!align=left width="60"|%!!align=left width="40"|Seats!!align=left width="60"|Turnout!!align=left width="190"|ACTC MP
|-
| align=left|[[Chavakacheri Electoral District|Chavakachcheri]]||12,921||45.51%||0||86.11%||
|-
| align=left|[[Jaffna Electoral District (1947–1989)|Jaffna]]||7,222||29.05%||0||79.89%||
|-
| align=left|[[Kankesanthurai Electoral District|Kankesanthurai]]||3,051||10.00%||0||81.03%||
|-
| align=left|[[Kayts Electoral District|Kayts]]||1,667||6.80%||0||76.88%||
|-
| align=left|[[Kilinochchi Electoral District|Kilinochchi]]||9,049||50.19%||1||76.03%||align=left|[[V. Anandasangaree]]
|-
| align=left|[[Kopay Electoral District|Kopay]]||11,288||38.38%||0||79.01%||
|-
| align=left|[[Nallur Electoral District|Nallur]]||13,116||46.78%||1||78.69%||align=left|C. Arulampalam
|-
| align=left|[[Point Pedro Electoral District|Point Pedro]]||8,902||46.85%||0||79.52%||
|-
| align=left|[[Udupiddy Electoral District|Udupiddy]]||11,662||42.02%||0||80.41%||
|-
| align=left|[[Uduvil Electoral District|Uduvil]]||11,656||40.68%||0||78.43%||
|-
| align=left|[[Vaddukoddai Electoral District|Vaddukoddai]]||14,359||51.29%||1||78.67%||align=left|Dr. A. Thiagarajah
|-
| align=left|[[Vavuniya Electoral District|Vavuniya]]||10,674||41.92%||0||80.82%||
|-
| align=left|'''Total'''||'''115,567'''||'''2.32%'''||'''3'''||||
|-
|align=left colspan=6|Source:<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20091209231958/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/pdf/Results_1970%20GENERAL%20ELECTION.PDF Result of Parliamentary General Election 1970, Department of Elections]</ref>
|}

==2000 Parliamentary General Election==
In the [[2000 Sri Lankan parliamentary election|2000 election]] the ACTC won 0.32% of the popular vote and 1 out of 225 seats in the [[Sri Lankan parliament]].

'''Votes and seats won by ACTC by electoral district'''
{| class="wikitable" border="1" style="text-align:right;" 
|-
! align=left width="100"|Electoral District!!align=left width="60"|Votes!!align=left width="60"|%!!align=left width="40"|Seats!!align=left width="60"|Turnout!!align=left width="190"|ACTC MP
|-
| align=left|[[Batticaloa Electoral District|Batticaloa]]||6,968||3.74%||0||71.74%||
|-
| align=left|Colombo||5,238||0.52%||0||76.05%||
|-
| align=left|[[Jaffna Electoral District|Jaffna]]||10,648||8.94%||1||21.33%||align=left|[[A. Vinayagamoorthy]]
|-
| align=left|[[Trincomalee Electoral District|Trincomalee]]||3,748||2.82%||0||68.53%||
|-
| align=left|[[Vanni Electoral District|Vanni]]||721||0.87%||0||42.14%||
|-
| align=left|'''Total'''||'''27,323'''||'''0.32%'''||'''1'''||||
|-
|align=left colspan=6|Source:<ref>[https://web.archive.org/web/20090107101155/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/District2000/district2000.html Result of Parliamentary General Election 10.10.2000, Department of Elections]</ref>
|}

==2001 Parliamentary General Election==
{{Tamil National Alliance 2001 parliamentary election results}}

==2004 Parliamentary General Election==
{{Tamil National Alliance 2004 parliamentary election results}}

==2010 Parliamentary General Election==
{{Tamil National People's Front 2010 parliamentary election results}}

==References==
{{Reflist}}
{{Sri Lankan political parties}}
{{Sri Lankan Tamil people}}
[[Category:All Ceylon Tamil Congress| ]]
[[Category:1944 establishments in Ceylon]]
[[Category:Ceylon in World War II]]
[[Category:Political parties established in 1944]]
[[Category:Political parties in Sri Lanka]]
[[Category:Sri Lankan Tamil nationalist parties]]