| Election Name: | 1970 Ceylonese parliamentary election |
| Country: | Sri Lanka |
| Type: | parliamentary |
| Ongoing: | no |
| Previous Election: | 1965 Ceylonese parliamentary election |
| Previous Year: | 1965 |
| Next Election: | 1977 Sri Lankan parliamentary election |
| Next Year: | 1977 |
| Seats For Election: | 151 seats in the House of Representatives of Ceylon 76 seats were needed for a majority |
| Election Date: | 27 May 1970 |
| Image1: | Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Prime Minister of Ceylon 1960 (cropped).PNG |
| Leader1: | Sirimavo Bandaranaike |
| Leader Since1: | 1960 |
| Party1: | Sri Lanka Freedom Party |
| Alliance1: | United Front |
| Leaders Seat1: | Attanagalla |
| Last Election1: | 30.18%, 41 seats |
| Seats1: | 91 |
| Seat Change1: | 50 |
| Popular Vote1: | 1,839,979 |
| Percentage1: | 36.86% |
| Swing1: | 6.68pp |
| Leader2: | N. M. Perera |
| Leader Since2: | 1945 |
| Party2: | Lanka Sama Samaja Party |
| Alliance2: | United Front |
| Leaders Seat2: | Yatiyantota |
| Last Election2: | 7.47%, 10 seats |
| Seats2: | 19 |
| Seat Change2: | 9 |
| Popular Vote2: | 433,224 |
| Percentage2: | 8.68% |
| Swing2: | 1.21pp |
| Image3: | Dudley Shelton Senanayaka (1911-1973).jpg |
| Leader3: | Dudley Senanayake |
| Leader Since3: | 1957 |
| Party3: | United National Party |
| Alliance3: | – |
| Leaders Seat3: | Dedigama |
| Last Election3: | 39.31%, 66 seats |
| Seats3: | 17 |
| Seat Change3: | 49 |
| Popular Vote3: | 1,892,525 |
| Percentage3: | 37.91% |
| Swing3: | 1.40pp |
| Prime Minister | |
| Posttitle: | Prime Minister-designate |
| Before Election: | Dudley Senanayake |
| After Election: | Sirimavo Bandaranaike |
| Before Party: | United National Party |
| After Party: | Sri Lanka Freedom Party |
Parliamentary elections were held in Ceylon in 1970.
SLFP leader Sirimavo Bandaranaike had come to the conclusion that her party's best hope of power was forming a permanent alliance with Ceylon's Marxist parties. She assembled the SLFP, the Trotskyist LSSP, and the Communists into the United Front coalition. The UF's platform was called the Common Programme; it featured extensive nationalization, a non-aligned foreign policy, expanded social programmes, and replacement of the British-imposed, monarchical Soulbury constitution with a republican constitution.
The UNP government of Dudley Senanayake had not made much headway with Ceylon's twin problems of inflation and unemployment, nor had it attempted solving the linked problems of feudal property relations and adverse terms of trade by agrarian reform and industrialisation. The UNP had become widely perceived as a party of the rich, out of touch with the concerns of ordinary people. The UF's socialist platform had much greater appeal.
The UF (with 49% of the vote) won an overwhelming majority, despite the UNP's plurality of the popular vote, due to the member parties running in different constituencies. The Tamil majority constituencies voted mainly for the two Tamil parties, one of which (the All Ceylon Tamil Congress), later joined the UF.
The 1970 election was the last held under the Soulbury constitution. The UF Government established the free, sovereign and independent Republic of Sri Lanka in 1972, breaking the last ties of colonialism.
The British-owned plantations were nationalised and there was land reform – giving poor rural people land. Industrial democracy was instituted in the transport and manufacturing sectors. A National pharmaceuticals policy was established, allowing for affordable drugs. A new education policy was followed, aimed at making education more relevant.
Increased protection led to growth in the manufacturing sector, particularly in textiles and garments, electronics and industrial machinery.