Freedom People's Congress නිදහස ජනතා සභාව | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Founders | Dullas Alahapperuma G. L. Peiris |
| Founded | 2 September 2022 (3 years ago) (2022-09-02) |
| Split from | Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna |
| Headquarters | Koswatte,Nawala |
| Ideology | |
| National affiliation | Samagi Jana Balawegaya |
| Colours | Blue |
TheFreedom People's Congress (Sinhala:නිදහස ජනතා සභාවNidahasa Janatha Sabha) is apolitical party in Sri Lanka founded byDullas Alahapperuma,G. L. Peiris and several other formerSri Lanka Podujana Peramuna MPs in 2022.[1][2]
The party was formed after a faction ofSri Lanka Podujana PeramunaMPs led by Dullas Alahapperuma and G L Peris defected from theRajapaksa-led party on 31 August 2022, and chose to sit in opposition as an independent group of MPs.[3] This followed Alahapperuma's decision to stand in the2022 presidential election, against the wishes of the majority of his party, who instead supported then-actingPresidentRanil Wickremesinghe.[4]
A few days after the defection, the newly independent group named themselves the Freedom People's Congress, opening an office inNawala.[2]
In December 2023, G. L. Peiris announced that the FPC would form an alliance with theSamagi Jana Balawegaya, the main opposition party, in 2024.[5] This alliance was launched as theSamagi Jana Sandanaya, and endorsed SJB leaderSajith Premadasa as its presidential candidate in the2024 presidential elections.[6]
Founding members stated that the party's aim was to introduce reforms to freeSri Lankan politics fromcorruption andnepotism and instead promotemeritocracy.[1][2]
The party's strategic framework emphasised the need to createpolitical freedom andeconomic freedom, primarily througheconomic liberalism andfree market capitalist economic policies, but also includinginterventionist policies such asforeign exchange controls.[7]
