The correct answer is Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, the official legislative and administrative capital of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka has operated an unusual dual-capital arrangement since the 1980s: the Sri Lankan Parliament, along with several administrative institutions, was relocated from central Colombo to Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte, a suburb roughly nine kilometres southeast of the old city, to ease congestion and create a purpose-built government precinct. Colombo, meanwhile, retained its position as the country's largest city and its commercial, financial and diplomatic centre, and it continued to house many ministries and the president's official residence even after losing its formal capital status. This split is precisely why option A, Colombo, is incorrect for this specific question: while colloquially many people still call Colombo the capital, and it functions as the de facto administrative hub, the constitutionally designated seat of the legislature is Kotte. Kandy, the last capital of the Sinhalese kings before British annexation in 1815, is a major cultural and religious city known for the Temple of the Tooth Relic, but it has never held any modern capital status, ruling out option B. Galle, a coastal city famed for its Dutch-era fort, was historically an important trading port under Portuguese and Dutch rule but likewise carries no capital function today, eliminating option C. A frequent exam confusion arises because most general-knowledge references and world atlases still casually list "Colombo" as Sri Lanka's capital without qualification, so candidates should specifically watch for the word "official," "legislative," or "administrative" in the question stem, which signals that Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte is being sought. As a revision takeaway, remember the pairing: Sri Jayawardenepura Kotte equals legislative capital (Parliament), and Colombo equals commercial capital and largest city — a distinction worth memorising alongside similar dual-capital countries.
