The civil war prevented house-to-house enumeration from taking place in most of the Northern Province from the mid-1980s onwards.

The civil war resulted in significant population displacement and emigration from the Northern Province.

Virtually the entire population of the Jaffna peninsula fled to the Vanni in 1995 to escape the military onslaught by the Sri Lankan military as they tried to recapture the peninsula from the rebel Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam.

Tens of thousands also fled to other parts of Sri Lanka outside the conflict zone, particularly to the capital Colombo.

The civil war ended in May 2009 and in 2010 the first house-to-house enumeration in around 25 years took place in most of the Northern Province.

The decision by the Department of Elections to reduce Jaffna's seats drew much criticism, particularly by opposition parties.

[6][7] They pointed out that although there are only a small number of people still in IDP camps, tens of thousands had not returned to their homes and were living with relatives due to the existence of High Security Zones and ongoing de-mining.

For most people in the Northern Province rebuilding their lives after the devastating civil war had been far more important than registering to vote.