Local elections were held in Sri Lanka on 10 February 2018. 15.7 million Sri Lankans were eligible to elect 8,327 members to 340 local authorities (24 municipal councils, 41 urban councils and 275 divisional councils). It was the largest election in Sri Lankan history. This was also the first election under the mixed electoral system where 60% of members were elected using first-past-the-post voting and the remaining 40% through closed list proportional representation. In a surprise result, the newly formed Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna, led by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa, came first, winning 40% of the votes and securing the most number of seats and local authorities. The United National Front led by Prime Minister of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe came second with 29% of the votes whilst the United People's Freedom Alliance led by President Maithripala Sirisena came third with 12% of the votes. However, most local authorities were hung with no overall control.