 | This article has multiple issues. Please helpimprove it or discuss these issues on thetalk page.(Learn how and when to remove these messages) (Learn how and when to remove this message)
|
People's Alliance පොදු ජන එක්සත් පෙරමුණ பொது ஜன முன்னணி | |
|---|---|
| Leader | Anura Priyadharshana Yapa |
| Secretary-General | Lasantha Alagiyawanna |
| Founder | Chandrika Kumaratunga |
| Founded | 1994; 31 years ago (1994) |
| Succeeded by | United People's Freedom Alliance |
| Headquarters | 301, 3rd Floor, T. B. Jaya Mawatha, Colombo 10 |
| Ideology | Social democracy |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| Local Government | 302 / 7,842 |
| Election symbol | |
 Chair | |
ThePeople's Alliance (PA;Sinhala:පොදු ජන එක්සත් පෙරමුණ;Tamil:பொது ஜன முன்னணி) is a political alliance inSri Lanka, founded byPresidentChandrika Kumaratunga in 1994. The alliance came to power following its victory in thegeneral elections that year, ending 17 years ofUnited National Party (UNP) rule.
The alliance was dissolved in favor of anew SLFP-led alliance in 2004. In 2025, the alliance saw a revival and contested in thelocal government elections that year.[1]
The People's Alliance was founded in 1994 after Chandrika Kumaratunga succeeded her mother, formerprime ministerSirimavo Bandaranaike, as the leader of the SLFP. The alliance was formed as a coalition consisting of the SLFP and other smallerleftist parties.
The alliance won its first elections, the1994 parliamentary elections, in a landslide victory, defeating their main opposition theUnited National Party. The PA won 105 seats out of 225 in the parliament and formed a government with the support of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress which won seven seats and the up-country People's front. Chandrika Kumaratunga was sworn in as Prime Minister on August 17, 1994. In thePresidential Election held on 9th November 1994, the Prime Minister Chandrika won with 65.2% of the votes, the largest landslide victory in Sri Lankan history.
The People's Alliance government, led by President Kumaratunga, which was elected on promises of peace, initiated talks with the LTTE, easing the Northern embargo as a goodwill gesture, to which the LTTE responded by releasing detained police officers. Four rounds of direct negotiations were held, focusing on humanitarian issues. The government aimed to pursue political dialogue in parallel with confidence-building measures, while the LTTE insisted on resolving humanitarian concerns first, postponing political discussions to a later stage. The talks ultimately collapsed after several months, following an LTTE attack on Sri Lankan naval vessels.
The PA would remain the ruling party of Sri Lanka for the next few years, successfully winning the1999 Sri Lankan presidential election as well as the2000 parliamentary elections. However, the alliance was defeated by the UNP-ledUnited National Front in the2001 parliamentary elections.
After the creation of a new SLFP-led alliance, theUnited People's Freedom Alliance, in 2004, most members of the People's Alliance merged into the new alliance. TheCPSL andLSSP threatened to reform the PA as a separate front, however, such alliance was never formed.
In2024, in light of the upcoming presidential elections, the SLFP proposed to form a new alliance, led by the SLFP, in opposition to the incumbent government led by presidentRanil Wickremesinghe.[2] The new alliance was revealed to be a revival of the People's Alliance, with the exact same name, which was originally founded in 1994.[3] The SLFP announced that former president Chandrika Kumaratunga would once again be leading the alliance, and Kumaratunga's SLFP membership was restored, marking her return to politics.[3][4][5] SLFP leaderMaithripala Sirisena was appointed the chairman of the new PA.[2]
In2025, the party contested the local government elections that year under the leadership ofAnura Priyadharshana Yapa.[1]
The People's Alliance (PA) advocated a mixed economic approach, identifying its economic framework as a market economy complemented by targeted welfare measures. Central to its ideology was the belief in maintaining market mechanisms while simultaneously safeguarding vulnerable populations through state intervention.[6] This was a radical departure from thedirigisme state-planned economics advocated by theSLFP at the time.
In addressing structural poverty, the PA outlined a National Programme for the Eradication of Poverty, aimed at long-term socioeconomic upliftment. Furthermore, the alliance emphasized the need for political restructuring through the vigorous implementation of a genuine and adequate devolution of power with a strong commitment to decentralization and regional autonomy within a unitary state framework.
At the time of its dissolution in 2004, the alliance consisted of the following parties:
| Election year | Votes | Vote % | Seats won | +/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | 3,887,823 | 48.94% | 105 / 225 |  105 | Government |
| 2000 | 3,900,901 | 45.11% | 107 / 225 | 2 | Government |
| 2001 | 3,330,815 | 37.19% | 77 / 225 |  30 | Opposition |
| Election year | Candidate | Votes | Vote % | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1994 | Chandrika Kumaratunga | 4,709,205 | 62.28% | Won |
| 1999 | Chandrika Kumaratunga | 4,312,157 | 51.12% | Won |
| Election year | Votes | Vote % | Councillors | Local Authorities | +/– | Government |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 387,098 | 3.72% | 300 / 7,812 | 0 / 341 | New | Opposition |
