Milinda was appointed as the UNP Chief Organiser for Colombo East in 2000, and later in 2005 received an additional appointment as UNP Chief Organiser for Colombo West. Together, these two areas make up what was earlier known as the Colombo South Electorate and is comprised of the following municipal wards:

Since changes in the constitution carried out during the period 1977-1989, members of parliament no longer represent individual electorates and are instead elected on a district-wise basis. Unfortunately, this has led to a distancing of people from their elected representatives, has weakened the democratic tenet of accountability and has contributed to the erosion of democracy at the grass-roots level. It has left citizens with few avenues for redress or complaint.

Milinda firmly believes that the present electoral system is in dire need of reforms to rectify this unsatisfactory situation. He further believes that the preference vote component of Sri Lanka’s hybrid electoral system in particular, has had a corrosive and corrupting influence on Sri Lankan politics.

In spite of the present electoral set up, Milinda endeavours to represent the citizens living in the areas designated to him by the United National Party to the best of his abilities and seeks to rebuild the civic traditions that have become largely eroded due to the 1977-1989 electoral changes. He attempts to redress constituency problems within a flawed system, to foster measures which encourage the empowerment of civic groups, community cohesion and cooperation. He also continues to work towards restoring public morale and discourse, to build values of decency, respect, commitment and discipline in his constituency of Colombo South.

Colombo South has always been an area with a diverse mix of religions and ethnicities and has a rich political heritage. Its history reflects the many political and social changes that Sri Lanka has undergone during the course of the last century. For those interested in reading more about the history of Colombo South, a summary of key events is given below.

» 1833 – Creation of the Legislative Council

» 1911 Representation on a Restricted Franchise Basis

» 1921 Representation on a territorial basis-Creation of the Town of
Colombo Electorate

» 1924 Division of Colombo Town into Colombo Town (North) and Colombo
Town (South)

» 1931 Universal Franchise and Creation of the Colombo South Electorate

» 1947 Wellawatte removed from Colombo South, Wellawatte/Galkissa
Electorate created

» 1960 Colombo South becomes a multi-member constituency,
Wellawatte added back

» 1977 Colombo South is split into Colombo East and Colombo West

» 1978 Parliamentary Representation now on a district instead of
electorate-wise basis

1833 Creation of the Legislative Council
The creation of the Legislative Council in 1833 marks the beginning of representative government in modern Sri Lanka. At this time, electorates were not demarcated on a territorial basis. Instead, representatives classified as Officials and Unofficials were appointed by the Colonial Governour to represent ethnic groups and commercial interests.

1911 Representation on a Restricted Franchise Basis
This year marked the introduction of elections on a ‘Restricted Franchise’ basis. There were separate seats for representatives from the Urban European, Rural European, Burgher and Ceylonese communities on the Council. There was also an elected seat for “Educated Ceylonese”. The first Ceylonese to be elected under this latter category was Sir Ponnambalam Ramanathan who defeated Dr.Marcus Fernando at the polls.

1921 Representation on a territorial basis- Creation of the Town of Colombo Electorate
Territorial Electorates were first introduced in 1921. James Peiris ran uncontested from the Town of Colombo.

1924 Division of Colombo Town into Colombo Town (North) and Colombo Town (South)
The Town of Colombo was split up into Colombo Town (North) and Colombo Town (South) in 1924. James Peiris stood for election to Colombo Town (South) and was elected uncontested. In 1930, Dr. E.A. Cooray won the seat against T.G. Jayawardena and in 1931 R.L. Pereira was elected to represent the electorate. Franchise was restricted to males, and was based on property and education.

1931 Introduction of Universal Suffrage & Creation of the Colombo South Electorate
With the establishment of the State Council in 1931, and the introduction of universal suffrage,Colombo South was created. Dr. S.W. Dasanayake represented the seat in 1931 followed by Dr. E.A. Cooray in 1935. Dr. A.P. de Zoysa was then elected as representative in the by-election of 1936, and re-elected in the next election in 1936.

1947 Wellawatte removed from Colombo South, Wellawatte/Galkissa Electorate created
With the creation of the First Parliament, Wellawatte was removed from the Colombo South Electorate and was merged with Galkissa to create the Wellawatte/Galkissa electorate. Colombo South was represented by R.A. de Mel (UNP) in 1947, followed by T.F. Jayewardena (UNP) who was elected in the1947 by-election and who was re-elected in 1952. In 1956, Bernard Soysa (LSSP) was elected as the representative for Colombo South.

Dr. Colvin R. de Silva (LSSP) was elected as representative for the Wellawatte/Galkissa Electorate in 1947, followed by S.de S. Jayasinghe (UNP) in 1952. Dr. Colvin R. de Silva (LSSP) was re-elected in 1956.

1960 Colombo South becomes a multi-member constituency, Wellawatte added back
In 1960, Colombo South became a multi-member constituency with two seats in Parliament and Wellawatte was reincorporated into the Colombo South electorate. Bernard Soysa (LSSP) and Edmund Samarawickrema (UNP) were elected as representatives in March 1960. In July 1960, Bernard Soysa was re-elected and JR Jayewardene was elected in the place of Edmund Samarawickrema. Bernard Soysa and JR Jayewardene were re-elected uncontested in 1965 and again in 1970.

JR Jayewardene symbolically resigned his seat in 1975 when the United Front Government used emergency powers to extend the period of Parliament. In the watershed by-election of 1975, which was the turning point for the UNP landslide victory of 1977, JR Jayewardene was re-elected.

1977- Colombo South divided into East and West Electorates
In 1977, Colombo South was split up into two electorates, Colombo East and Colombo West. The former was represented by Edmund Samarawickrema (UNP) and the latter by JR Jayewardene. When JR Jayewardene assumed office as the first Executive President, Anura Bastian replaced him as representative of Colombo West in the by-election of 1978.

1978 Representation on District instead of Electorate basis
Since the change in the electoral system in 1978, which came into effect in the next general election held in 1989 when the preference vote system was also incorporated, members of parliament are now elected on a district rather than on an electorate-wise basis.

During the period of 1989 - 2000, neither Colombo East or Colombo West had any parliamentary representation in Parliament, although the UNP appointed organizers to those areas. Milinda was appointed as the UNP Chief Organiser for Colombo East in 2000 and subsequently entered Parliament in the same year as a UNP National List member. Since then, Milinda has continued to serve as the UNP Chief Organizer for Colombo East, and since 2005 as its Chief Organizer for Colombo West, in addition to serving as a Member of Parliament.