It was the first general election to be held in Sri Lanka following the conclusion of the civil war which lasted 26 years.

The main parties contesting in the election were the ruling United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA), the main opposition United National Front (UNF) and the Democratic National Alliance (DNA) led by former commander of the Sri Lankan Army Sarath Fonseka.

As expected, the UPFA secured a landslide victory in the elections, buoyed by its achievement of ending the 30 year Sri Lankan Civil War and defeating the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam in May 2009.

The UPFA won a large majority in the parliament, obtaining 144 seats, an increase of 39 since the 2004 election.

[2][3] The UPFA however fell short of its goal of obtaining a two-thirds supermajority in the house, which it would have needed to change the constitution on its own.

[7][8] On April 6, 2004, President Chandrika Kumaratunga appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa, the leader of the UPFA, as the new prime minister.

Under Rajapakse, the Sri Lankan military defeated the militant Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam group in May 2009, ending the 30 year Sri Lankan Civil War and significantly increasing Rajapaksa's popularity in the country.

Rajapaksa rode this wave of popularity to win the 2010 Presidential election, defeating opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka by a large margin.

The parliamentary opposition parties (UNF, Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) and (TNA), who had come together to support common opposition candidate Sarath Fonseka at the presidential election, were unable to form a common alliance to contest in the election.

[35] The TNA contested under the name and symbol of the Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi, as it did in the last parliamentary election.

[38] People's Action for Free and Fair Elections (PAFFREL) recorded 270 incidents up to 7 April.