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United National Front (Sri Lanka)

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United National Front for Good Governance
එක්සත් යහපාලන ජාතික පෙරමුණ
நல்லாட்சிக்கான ஐக்கிய தேசிய முன்னணி
AbbreviationUNFGG
LeaderRanil Wickremesinghe
Secretary GeneralAkila Viraj Kariyawasam
FoundedOctober 2001 (2001-10) (as the United National Front)
5 July 2015 (2015-07-05) (as the United National Front for Good Governance)
Dissolved2020
Preceded byUnited National Front
Succeeded bySamagi Jana Balawegaya (Sajith faction)
Headquarters120A, Stafford Road, Colombo 06, Colombo, Sri Lanka
IdeologyConservatism
Political positionCentre-right
Colors  Green
Election symbol
Elephant

The United National Front (UNF) (Sinhala: එක්සත් ජාතික පෙරමුණ), later the United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) (Sinhala: එක්සත් යහපාලන ජාතික පෙරමුණ Eksath Yahapalana Jathika Peramuna; Tamil: நல்லாட்சிக்கான ஐக்கிய தேசிய முன்னணி), was a political alliance in Sri Lanka led by the United National Party.

The UNF was the governing party of the Parliament of Sri Lanka from 2015 to 2020. The alliance once consisted of 7 parties, including the largest Muslim party in Sri Lanka, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, and the Sinhalese nationalist Jathika Hela Urumaya. Since 2020, however, the alliance has been rendered mostly nugatory, having only one national list seat in the parliament and the UNP being the only constituent party of the alliance.

History

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United National Front (2001–2015)

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The UNF was formed as an alliance in 2001 to contest against the ruling SLFP-led People's Alliance led by president Chandrika Kumaratunga in the 2001 parliamentary elections. The alliance initially consisted of only the United National Party, the Ceylon Workers' Congress, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Western People's Front. The alliance won the election, securing 109 seats in the parliament, which was 4 seats short of a majority.

From October 2003 onwards, however, the UNF government had been in limbo, when president Kumaratunga declared a state of emergency and took three key cabinet portfolios for her party. During the campaign, Kumaratunga argued that prime minister Wickremesinghe had been too soft on the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam and promised to take a harder stance against the Tamil rebel group. The UNF, on the other hand, stressed the economic gains that the country had made as a result of the ceasefire and the need to find a negotiated solution to the civil war. Eventually, Kumaratunga dissolved the parliament and called another election in 2004, in which the UNF lost to the newly formed United People's Freedom Alliance.

Following the UNF's defeat, many of the constituent parties subsequently crossed over from the UNF to the UPFA. In 2006, the CWC left the alliance to join UPFA. The UNP and SLMC together contested in the 2010 parliamentary election as the UNF and only secured 29.34% of the popular vote and 60 out of 225 seats. After the election, the SLMC left the UNF and joined the UPFA government of President Mahinda Rajapaksa.[1]

United National Front for Good Governance (2015–2020)

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See also: 2015 Sri Lankan parliamentary election

The UNP has contested in parliamentary elections as part of a bigger alliance with smaller parties in the past before, but many of these parties would defect to the opposing party following the election.[2][3] The United National Front was once again relaunched by the UNP as a common front against Mahinda Rajapaksa, who was defeated in the 2015 presidential elections. The UNF this time had the support of many parties such as the Jathika Hela Urumaya, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, and the Tamil National Alliance as a major coalition to support the common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena, a former member of the SLFP and minister in Rajapaksa's government before turning against Rajapaksa and formally running as a New Democratic Front candidate.

Prior to the election being called, the UNP had claimed it would contest in the election on its own.[4][5][6] However, after the election had been called, the UNP instead began to form alliances with several minority parties, including the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA).[7][8][9][10] Following the presidential election, the de facto electoral alliance between president Sirisena and the United National Front led to Sirisena appointing UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe as his prime minister, the day Sirisena was elected president.

On 12 July 2015, the UNP, SLMC and TPA signed agreements with the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and anti-Rajapaksa members of the SLFP to form the United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) to contest the parliamentary election.[11][12][13] The All Ceylon Makkal Congress (ACMC) also contested with the UNFGG.[14][15] Though the UNFGG was believed to have had the tacit support of president Sirisena, Sirisena officially pledged to remain neutral.[16][17][18]

The UNFGG had originally been established by the renaming of the JHU after it left the UPFA.[19][20][21] It was registered as a political party with the diamond symbol.[22][23] Despite this, the UNFGG contested in the election under the name and elephant symbol of the UNP.[24][25] Then-UNFGG general secretary Champika Ranawaka stated that the JHU name and its conch symbol will be revived after the election.[26]

The UNFGG became the largest group in Parliament following the 2015 parliamentary elections, securing 45.66% of the vote and 106 seats, whilst the UPFA won only 42.38% of the vote and 95 seats.[27][28] Rajapaksa quickly conceded defeat in his attempt to return to power and become prime minister.[29][30] 42 members of the opposition subsequently joined the UNFGG government, giving them a 2⁄3 majority. The result left the UNFGG seven seats short of a majority in Parliament.[31][32] However, on 20 August 2015, the central committee of the SLFP agreed to form a national government with the UNP which would last for two years.[33][34] Wickremesinghe was sworn in as prime minister for another term on 21 August 2015.[35][36] Immediately afterwards, a memorandum of understanding to work together in Parliament was signed by acting SLFP general secretary Duminda Dissanayake and UNP general secretary Kabir Hashim.[37][38]

Samagi Jana Balawegaya and split

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Prior to the 2020 parliamentary elections, the working committee of the UNP appointed opposition leader Sajith Premadasa as the leader of the new UNP-led alliance, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), and selected Premadasa as the prime ministerial candidate of the SJB.[39] UNP senior Ranjith Madduma Bandara was named as the new General Secretary of the alliance.[40][41] The Jathika Hela Urumaya, Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Tamil Progressive Alliance also announced their support for the new alliance.[42]

52 out of 77 UNP MPs joined the new alliance. On 14 February 2020, both Sajith Premadasa and Ranil Wickremesinghe agreed to contest in the elections under the swan symbol and file nominations under the Samagi Jana Balawegaya in an attempt to deescalate the ongoing threat of division within the United National Party.[43] At the last minute, however, UNP leader Ranil Wickremesinghe withdrew from the SJB alliance, despite his previous approval of the alliance to contest. Despite Wickremesinghe's decision, the majority of the UNP signed nominations under the SJB. Approximately 75 members of parliament joined the alliance, while a minority faction of the UNP filed nominations under the elephant symbol.

The UNP suffered its worst defeat in history in the elections, receiving only 2.15% of votes cast. For the first time, the party failed to win a single seat in parliament, having only gained one national list seat.[44]

Members

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Electoral history

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Sri Lanka Parliamentary Elections
Election year Votes Vote % Seats won +/– Result for the party
2001 4,086,026 45.62%
109 / 225
 Steady 0 Government
2004 3,504,200 37.83%
82 / 225
 Decrease 27 Opposition
2010 2,357,057 29.34%
60 / 225
 Decrease 22 Opposition
2015 5,098,916 45.66%
106 / 225
 Increase 49 Government[a]
2020 249,435 2.15%
1 / 225
 Decrease 105 Opposition[b]

Leadership

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See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ The UNFGG led a National Unity government from 2015–18.
  2. ^ Ranil Wickremesinghe, the sole elected UNFGG MP, would later join the SLPP-led government in 2022.

References

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  1. ^ "Ranil Wickremasinghe Fades into Near Oblivion when Contrasted Against a Giant like Mahinda Rajapaksa". 21 February 2013.
  2. ^ Chandraprema, C. A. (29 December 2006). "The UNP's Electoral Prospects". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  3. ^ "Defections, alliances to boost UPFA numbers". Tamil Guardian. 7 March 2006.
  4. ^ Ramakrishnan, T. "UNP to go it alone in parliamentary polls". The Hindu.
  5. ^ Bandara, Kelum (19 June 2015). "UNP to go it alone at general election". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka).
  6. ^ "UNP to go it alone at general election". The Nation (Sri Lanka). 20 June 2015.
  7. ^ Gooneratne, Lankesh (11 July 2015). "SLMC to go with UNP". Ceylon Today.
  8. ^ Nafeel, Nushka (11 July 2015). "SLMC to contest polls with UNP". Daily News (Sri Lanka).
  9. ^ Balachandran, P. K. (10 July 2015). "Tamil Progressive Alliance Ties Up With UNP in Lankan Polls". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015.
  10. ^ "Tamil Progressive Alliance jumps on UNP bandwagon". The Nation (Sri Lanka). 11 July 2015.
  11. ^ Perera, Yohan (13 July 2015). "Good Governance MoU signed". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka).
  12. ^ "Disillusioned supporters of Sri Lanka President form a new front with UNP to contest parliamentary elections". Colombo Page. 11 July 2015.
  13. ^ Rajasingham, K. T. (12 July 2015). "A Broad Holy Alliance for Good Governance – Minus Maithripala Srisena". Asian Tribune.
  14. ^ Bastians, Dharisha (13 July 2015). "Rainbow reunites against Rajapaksa". Daily FT.
  15. ^ "Key issues for the people at August 17 poll". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 14 July 2015.
  16. ^ Balachandran, P. K. (12 July 2015). "Sirisena's Blessings for Anti-Rajapaksa Front". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on July 15, 2015.
  17. ^ "Will remain neutral, won't back MR: Maithri". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 14 July 2015.
  18. ^ Balachandran, P. K. (13 July 2015). "Lankan Bigwigs To Fight It Out In Colombo District". The New Indian Express. Archived from the original on July 16, 2015.
  19. ^ "Maithri-Mahinda re-marriage irks 'best men'". The Nation (Sri Lanka). 11 July 2015.
  20. ^ "Rauff wants Ranil as Premier of a stable govt". The Island (Sri Lanka). 13 July 2015.
  21. ^ "JHU to contest under a new front". adaderana.lk. 5 July 2015.
  22. ^ Ratnasekera, Sirimantha (10 July 2015). "Somawansa gets on JHU bandwagon for the poll". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  23. ^ Kuruppu, Chamitha (10 July 2015). "We don't have a Mahinda Rajapaksa phobia". Daily FT.
  24. ^ Somarathna, Rasika (13 July 2015). "MOU for broad alliance". Daily News (Sri Lanka).
  25. ^ Imtiaz, Zahrah (14 July 2015). "No divisions in the SLFP – Priyankara Jayaratne". Ceylon Today.
  26. ^ Fernando, Manjula (12 July 2015). "Our alliance represents the true masses – Champika Ranawaka". Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka).
  27. ^ "Rajapakse concedes election defeat as UNP secures 106 seats". Gulf Times. Agence France-Presse. 18 August 2015.
  28. ^ "UNF Wins Sri Lanka Battle, Rajapaksa Concedes Defeat". The New Indian Express. Indo-Asian News Service. 18 August 2015. Archived from the original on September 1, 2015.
  29. ^ "Former Sri Lankan president Mahinda Rajapaksa concedes defeat in bid to become PM". ABC News (Australia). 18 August 2015.
  30. ^ "MR concedes defeat". Daily News (Sri Lanka). 19 August 2015. Archived from the original on 22 August 2015.
  31. ^ "Sri Lanka's prime minister defeats former president Rajapaksa in elections". The Guardian. Reuters. 18 August 2015.
  32. ^ "Sri Lanka's PM defeats ex-president in elections". Al Jazeera. 19 August 2015.
  33. ^ Edirisinghe, Dasun (21 August 2015). "SLFP CC for joining national government". The Island (Sri Lanka).
  34. ^ Bandara, Kelum (20 August 2015). "SLFP agrees to join National Govt". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka).
  35. ^ Liyanawatte, Dinuka (21 August 2015). "Wickremesinghe sworn in as Sri Lankan prime minister". Reuters.
  36. ^ Ramakrishnan, T. (21 August 2015). "Ranil Wickremesinghe sworn in as Sri Lankan Prime Minister". The Hindu.
  37. ^ "UNP and SLFP sign MoU". The Daily Mirror (Sri Lanka). 21 August 2015.
  38. ^ "SLFP & UNP sign MoU to form National Govt". Sri Lanka Guardian. 21 August 2015.
  39. ^ "Sri Lanka : UNP appoints Sajith as the leader of new alliance and Prime Ministerial candidate".
  40. ^ "Hiru News Official Web Site - Most visited website in Sri Lanka".
  41. ^ "Sajith Premadasa taps Maddumabandara for General Secretary of new movement". 3 February 2020.
  42. ^ "JHU, TPA, SLMC to support new Sajith-led Alliance". telugu.ucnews.in.
  43. ^ "Proposal from Ranil: Contest under the 'Swan' and to appoint Karu as general secretary". english.newstube.lk.
  44. ^ "2020 General Election: All-Island Final Result". Adaderana. Retrieved 7 August 2020.
  45. ^ Edirisinghe, Dasun (21 January 2016), "DNM demands vacant UNP seat", The Island (Sri Lanka), retrieved 16 March 2016
  46. ^ Gooneratne, Lankesh (2 February 2016), "Ekanayake scotches rumours", Ceylon Today, archived from the original on 7 June 2020, retrieved 16 March 2016
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