Sri Lanka Freedom Party ශ්රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Abbreviation | SLFP |
| Chairperson | Nimal Siripala de Silva |
| Secretary-General | Duminda Dissanayake |
| Founder | S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike |
| Founded | 2 September 1951 (74 years ago) (1951-09-02) |
| Preceded by | Sinhala Maha Sabha |
| Headquarters | 307, T. B. Jayah Mawatha, Colombo 10, Sri Lanka. |
| Newspaper | Singhale, Dinakara |
| Youth wing | SLFP Youth Front |
| Ideology | |
| Political position | Centre-left |
| Religion | Theravada Buddhism[5] |
| National affiliation | NDF PA Former: MEP UF UPFA SLPFA FPA |
| Colours | Blue |
| Parliament of Sri Lanka | 3 / 225 |
| Local Government Bodies | 0 / 340 |
| Election symbol | |
Hand | |
| Website | |
| www | |
TheSri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP;Sinhala:ශ්රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය,romanised: Śrī Laṁkā Nidahas Pakṣaya;Tamil:இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி,romanised: Ilaṅkai Cutantirak Kaṭci) is acentre-leftpolitical party inSri Lanka. Founded byS. W. R. D. Bandaranaike in 1951,[6] the party was one of Sri Lanka's two main parties from the 1950s to the 2010s, serving as the main rival of thecentre-rightUnited National Party.[7] Following asplit in the late 2010s and subsequent electoral losses, the influence of the party has since diminished.[8][9]
The party is generally considered as having ademocratic socialist orprogressive economic agenda and is often associated withSinhalesenationalist parties. The party follows anon-aligned foreign policy but has historically had close ties to socialist nations.[10]
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party was founded in 1951, when long-standingUnited National Party stalwartS. W. R. D. Bandaranaike defected from the party and crossed over to the opposition with several of his other close associates. His party, theSinhala Maha Sabha, was dissolved and the Sri Lanka Freedom Party was inaugurated.[11][12]
After Sri Lanka gained its independence, the SLFP represented a form of non-revolutionarysocialism and a policy of non-alignment with strong ties to socialist countries. Its social democratic and nationalist policies in the aftermath of Sri Lankan independence supported its rapid rise towards attaining major party status alongside the centre-right United National Party. SLFP founder S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike stated that the basis of the party would be the 'Pancha Maha Balavegaya' (Five Great Forces) which consisted of the native doctors, clergy, teachers, farmers and workers.[13]
After winning 9 seats in the1952 parliamentary election, Bandaranaike contested the1956 election on a platform of giving true meaning to the independence achieved in 1948.[14] This involved a nationalist, democratic and socialist program which saw the SLFP achieve a huge victory at the 1956 elections and is seen by many observers as a social revolution resulting in the eclipse of the Westernised elite.[15]
The achievements of S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike's term of office include the reverting of major defence facilities from British to local control, initiating a shift in Sri Lanka's foreign policy from theWest to theNon-Aligned Movement and lowering thevoting age from 21 to 18 years of age.[16]
Working people, a core base of support for the party, also benefited through the setting up of an Employee's Provident Fund and the empowerment of peasants through the Paddy Lands Act. The healthcare and education systems were also improved for the benefit of the common man with the establishment of ayurvedic research centres, recognition of native physicians as well as the allowing of students to learn in their mother tongue (rather than only English).[17][18]
The S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike government also had a lasting contribution in language policy. In 1956Sinhala replaced English as the sole official language of Sri Lanka, fulfilling a major election pledge. In reaction toTamil unease to this change, theBandaranaike–Chelvanayakam Pact was signed to grant official status to theTamil language as well. However, the agreement was vehemently opposed by hardline Sinhalese nationalists led by the UNP and instead a watered down act was passed.[19] In September 1959, Bandaranaike wasassassinated byTalduwe Somarama, an extremistBuddhist monk opposed to Bandaranaike's supposed attempts to appease the Tamils. He was replaced as prime minister for an interim period byWijeyananda Dahanayake.
Afterwards, the party turned to Bandaranaike's widowSirimavo Bandaranaike, who consequently became the world'sfirst elected female head of government in1960. Sirimavo Bandaranaike was determined to carry on the program of her late husband and her government pursued several socialist policies during its terms of office from 1960 to 1964 and 1970 to 1977. Sirimavo also initiated the trend of the SLFP forging alliances with otherleftist parties such as theCommunist Party of Sri Lanka and theLanka Sama Samaja Party, a trend which the SLFP continues to this day.[20]
Under Sirimavo Bandaranaike's leadership, SLFP governmentsnationalised key sectors of the economy such as banking and insurance, the Ceylon Transport Board and also all schools then owned by theRoman Catholic Church. Issues arose during the state takeover of foreign businesses which upset theUnited States andBritain. Consequently, this augmented the SLFP's foreign policy shift towards theEast and the Non-Aligned Movement. Further, in 1972, the SLFP led government oversaw the introduction of anew constitution which changed the country's name from Ceylon to Sri Lanka and declared Sri Lanka to be a republic.[20]
During her term in office, Sirimavo Bandaranaike achieved high international standing, being chosen as chairman of theNon-Aligned Movement in 1976 and receiving plaudits as the SLFP-led government attempted to mediate betweenIndia andChina during theSino-Indian war.[21]
In government, the SLFP had to also overcome a number of challenges to democracy such as the1962 coup attempt, launched byChristian officers upset by the increasing number of Buddhist officer corp which had previously been three-fifths Christian. Likewise, in 1971 the SLFP-led government was almost toppled by aMarxist insurrection led by theJanatha Vimukthi Peramuna. The insurrection was successfully put down by the Ceylonese government, and the conflict claimed more than a thousand lives.[22]
Towards the end of Sirimavo Bandaranaike's second term as prime minister, her government had become increasingly unpopular amidst a declining economy and charges of corruption. In the1977 election, the SLFP saw a landslide defeat, winning only eight seats in the legislature.[23] This would be the start of the party's 17 years in opposition.
This period of opposition was made greatly difficult afterPresidentJ. R. Jayewardene's government stripped Sirimavo Bandaranaike of her civic rights for 7 years and expelled her from parliament.[24] As a result, the SLFP was forced to field former ministerHector Kobbekaduwa as their candidate at the1982 presidential election, who failed to deliver a strong outcome for the party.[25] The SLFP suffered another blow the same year, when areferendum to delay parliamentary elections by 6 years was passed. During this period, the party suffered from internal conflicts, with Sirimavo's sonAnura Bandaranaike, who led the party in parliament after her expulsion, shifting the traditionally socialist party to theright, while her daughter and future party leaderChandrika Kumaratunga led a breakaway party, theSri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya, in response to her brother's shift.[26] In1989, Sirimavo Bandaranaike was reelected to the parliament and took the lead again; she became leader of the opposition.
In the early 1990s, the existing UNP government had weakened through internal conflicts of its own as well as the descent intotwocivil wars and fading public support. New SLFP leaders, most prominentlyMahinda Rajapaksa, had launched successful pada yatra, jana gosha and white flag campaigns against the UNP government during this period.[27] By this time, Anura Bandaranaike had defected to the UNP to receive ministerial appointments, so Kumaratunga, who had returned to the party, was now the undisputed party leader and successor to her mother. Sirimavo Bandaranaike had lost her influence with the electorate and stepped aside as party leader in favour of her daughter.[28]
During the 1994parliamentary andpresidential elections, the SLFP saw a successful return to power and Chandrika Kumaratunga was elected the nation's first female president as part of the SLFP-ledPeople's Alliance coalition. Kumaratunga's tenure marked the beginning of the SLFP's shift from the party's initial socialist policies towards a morecentrist philosophy that sought to combine both the free market and the SLFP's traditional people-friendly policies.[29]
The People's Alliance government continued with their predecessor's attempts to negotiate with theLTTE, whilst simultaneously attempting toweaken them militarily through force. The SLFP government however initially placed greater emphasis on achieving peace with the Kumaratunga government engaging in numerous peace talks. However, LTTE intransigence limited the policy's effectiveness.[29] The People's Alliance can be credited however with significant victories on the foreign policy front, with Foreign Affairs MinisterLakshman Kadirgamar spearheading successful efforts to further isolate the LTTE internationally.[30] Another achievement of the Kumaratunga administration was the establishment of several new public universities.[31]
Despite successes on these fronts, the Kumaratunga government also oversaw territorial losses to the LTTE as well as a flagging economy.[32] As a result of this, a UNP government was elected at the2001 parliamentary elections. In November 2003, Kumaratunga used her presidential powers to take powers away from Prime MinisterRanil Wickremesinghe's UNP in the form of important ministries, and the new SLFP-led alliance, theUnited People's Freedom Alliance, returned to power at the2004 parliamentary election with future party leaderMahinda Rajapaksa being appointed as the prime minister.
A rift opened up in the party in 2005 over the choice of its candidate at the2005 presidential election between the President Kumaratunga-backedAnura Bandaranaike and Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa.[33] Many members of the SLFP had been uneasy with Chandrika Kumaratunga's liberal economic policies,privatisation of many public institutions as well as several allegations of corruption against her.[34] Rajapaksa was ultimately selected as the presidential candidate of the SLFP-led United People's Freedom Alliance and was subsequently elected as President.
Under Mahinda Rajapaksa, the SLFP shifted back to the left towards a social democratic program termed 'Mahinda Chinthana'. Some of the companies privatised by the Kumaratunga administration were re-nationalised such as Shell Gas Lanka.[35]
The major legacy of this period of UPFA government was bringing an end to the long-runningcivil war and the reunification of Sri Lanka. This achievement greatly boosted the popularity of the SLFP, leading to convincing victories in both thepresidential andparliamentary polls held in 2010.[36]
In the post-war period, the Rajapaksa administration instituted a large-scale infrastructure and development drive including the construction and renewal of many of Sri Lanka's key roads, mainly using loans from China.[37][38] In 2011, the construction of Sri Lanka'sfirst expressway was completed. Likewise, new coal and renewable energy power plants were built, improving the nation's power generation capacity. Tourism received a boost specially inColombo which ranked as the world's fastest growingtourist city in 2015.[39] However, many of these projects launched by Rajapaksa (most named after himself) have been calledwhite elephants, being built ignoring feasibility studies: for example, theMattala Rajapaksa International Airport built by Rajapaksa only services one budget carrier and was built in the way of a migratory route for birds.[40]
Other policies of the Rajapaksa government include programs to aid farmers and agricultural production, such as the re-launch of the farmer's pension scheme and subsidisation of fertilisers.[41]
In the area of foreign policy, the Rajapaksa government was seen to align itself towards the East, in accordance with SLFP tradition. This situation was augmented by the prevailing geopolitical environment, which led some Western nations to criticise the UPFA government regarding accusations ofhuman rights abuses during the civil war.[42]
During this time the government has been implicated ofpolitical kidnappings[43] and claimed theRajapaksa family was becoming adynasty which ran the country.[44][45]
The 2010–2015 period of the SLFP-led government was characterised by high economic growth and a reducingdebt-to-GDP ratio.[46] However, theIMF has said Sri Lanka's national accounts "suffer from insufficient data sources and undeveloped statistical techniques" and opposition legislators have accused Rajapaksa of giving overstated growth estimates. One of the top officials in the statistics office was sacked for disobedience and leaking internal information after he said that economic growth data compiled by the office was inflated.[47]
Eventually, allegations of corruption andnepotism saw Mahinda Rajapaksa lose the presidency to SLFP defectorMaithripala Sirisena in2015, who ran against him with the support of the UNP and other smaller parties.[48] The UNP consequently regained power despite the UPFA still holding a majority of seats in the legislature.
Soon after Sirisena's victory, Mahinda Rajapaksa handed over leadership of the party to Sirisena, as per the SLFP constitution which states any SLFP member who is president is automatically leader of the party.[49] Soon afterwards, the SLFP split into two main factions: those who were supportive of president Sirisena and were willing to work with the minority UNP government, and the faction loyal to the Rajapaksas, which acted as the mainde facto opposition to the new regime.[50][51]Nimal Siripala de Silva was appointed as parliamentary leader of the SLFP and the officialLeader of the Opposition.
During Sirisena's term as president, SLFP members came to dominate thecabinet numerically, albeit largely with lower ranking positions. The SLFP, especially the Rajapaksa faction, was instrumental in revising the19th Amendment to the Constitution of Sri Lanka proposed by the UNP, so as to reduce the powers of the president without transferring executive powers to the prime minister. However, rigorous attempts by President Sirisena and the SLFP to modify the current and largely unpopular electoral system were unsuccessful due to stiff opposition from the UNP and other smaller parties.[52]
On 14 August 2015, Sirisena issued a letter stating that pro-Rajapaksa loyalist and General SecretaryAnura Priyadarshana Yapa had been removed from the post, claiming that Yapa was going against the party policy and disobeying the commands of chairman. As a result, Sirsena appointed his loyalistDuminda Dissanayake as acting General Secretary 48 hours ahead of parliamentary election, and also obtainedcourt order to preventAnura Priyadarshana Yapa from functioning as General Secretary thereafter until 24 August 2015. Eventually, Sirisena sacked both the General Secretaries of the SLFP and theUPFA.[53]
In the2015 parliamentary election, the SLFP-led UPFA won only 95 seats while its opposition, the UNP-ledUNFGG won 106 seats.[54] TheUnited National Party, who won the elections, invited the SLFP to jointly create anational unity government and an agreement was signed between the UNP and SLFP.[55] 45 MPs joined the government and 50 MPs includingMahinda Rajapaksa remained in the opposition, which resulted in a split within the SLFP.[8]
By 2018, the influence of the SLFP in Sri Lankan politics began to decline, suffering a heavy loss in the2018 local government elections and finishing in third place, while the newly formedSri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) led by former presidentMahinda Rajapaksa placed first, winning 40% of the votes and securing the most number of seats and local authorities.[9][56][57] In the2019 presidential elections, though president Sirisena was eligible to run for a second term, the SLFP chose to endorse SLPP candidateGotabaya Rajapaksa, who won the election.[58][59][60]
The SLPP, SLFP and several other smaller parties formed a new political alliance, theSri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance, to contest in the2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary elections. The new alliance claimed a landslide victory, winning 145 seats in the parliament.
Between 2021 and 2022, however, the Rajapaksa government was beginning to lose much of its popularity. The ongoingeconomic crisis was only getting worse due to poor mismanagement by the government. By 2021, the foreign debt of Sri Lanka had risen to 101% of the nation's GDP. The government was also becoming highlynepotistic, with Rajapaksa family brothersBasil Rajapaksa asfinance minister and Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister, and several more members of the Rajapaksa family holding prominent positions in the government.[61]
On 5 April 2022, amidstincreasingdiscontent with the Rajapaksa government, the SLPP began losing many of its key allies in the SLPFA, including the SLFP.[62][63][64] Maithripala Sirisena pledged that the SLFP would become a neutral party and would contest in future elections separately from the SLPP.
On 11 January 2023, theFreedom People's Alliance was formed, consisting of the SLFP, theUttara Lanka Sabhagaya led byWimal Weerawansa and theFreedom People's Congress led byDullas Alahapperuma. All three parties were parties formerly aligned with the SLPP-led SLPFA who later defected from the alliance. The political alliance was a short-lived one, formed to contest in the2023 local government elections which ultimately never took place. The Freedom People's Congress would again defect to theSamagi Jana Balawegaya led by opposition leaderSajith Premadasa a year later.
 | This section needs to beupdated. Please help update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information.(February 2025) |
On 4 April 2024, the Colombo District Court issued an interim injunction temporarily preventing Maithripala Sirisena from functioning as the party chairman until 18 April, following a case filed by former SLFP chairmanChandrika Kumaratunga.[65][66][67] A few days later, entrance to the SLFP headquarters in Colombo was suspended to all individuals by the police.[68] On 8 April,Nimal Siripala de Silva was appointed as the acting chairman of the SLFP.[69] On 21 April 2024, the pro-Sirisena faction of the party appointed cabinet ministerWijeyadasa Rajapakshe acting chairman of the SLFP.[70] Now with two acting chairmen, the internal rift within the SLFP worsened further.[71] Rajapakshe revealed that he received several requests from members of the party's central committee to contest in theupcoming presidential elections as the SLFP candidate.[72]
On 12 May 2024, Sirisena announced his resignation as chairman of the SLFP, and the pro-Sirisena faction unanimously voted to appoint Wijeyadasa Rajapakse as the new chairman.[73] However, the anti-Sirisena faction of the SLFP still disapproved of the appointment.[74]
In the 2024 presidential elections, the party was split into three factions, with the Sirisena faction supporting National Democratic Front candidate Wijeyadasa Rajapakse, the Siripala faction supporting then-incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe, and theDayasiri faction supporting opposition leader Sajith Premadasa.[75][76]
| Name | Portrait | Period | Tenure |
|---|---|---|---|
| S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike | .jpg) | 1951–1959 | 8 years |
| C. P. de Silva | 1959–1960 | 1 year | |
| Sirimavo Bandaranaike | .PNG) | 1960–1994 | 34 years |
| Chandrika Kumaratunga | .jpg) | 1994–2006 | 12 years |
| Mahinda Rajapaksa | .jpg) | 2006–2015 | 9 years |
| Maithripala Sirisena | .jpg) | 2015–2024 | 9 years |
| Nimal Siripala de Silva |  | 2024–present | 1 year |
| Name | Portrait | Period | Leader | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Anura Bandaranaike | 1982-1993 | Sirimavo Bandaranaike | De facto | |
| Chandrika Kumaratunga | | 1993-1994 | Official |
| Election year | Candidate | Votes | % | ± | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Hector Kobbekaduwa | 2,548,438 | 39.07% |  39.07 | Lost |
| 1988 | Sirimavo Bandaranaike | 2,289,860 | 44.95% |  5.88 | Lost |
| 1994 | Chandrika Kumaratunga | 4,709,205 | 62.28% | 17.33 | Won |
| 1999 | Chandrika Kumaratunga | 4,312,157 | 51.12% |  11.16 | Won |
| 2005 | Mahinda Rajapaksa | 4,887,152 | 50.29% | 0.83 | Won |
| 2010 | Mahinda Rajapaksa | 6,015,934 | 57.88% | 7.59 | Won |
| 2015 | Mahinda Rajapaksa | 5,768,090 | 47.58% | 10.30 | Lost[a] |
| 2019 | SupportedGotabaya Rajapaksa | 6,924,255 | 52.25% | 4.67 | Won |
| 2024 | SupportedRanil Wickremesinghe | 2,299,767 | 17.27% | 34.98 | Lost |
| Election year | Votes | Vote % | Seats won | +/– | Leader | Result for the party |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1952 | 361,250 | 15.52% | 9 / 95 | 9 | S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike | Opposition |
| 1956 | 1,046,277 | 39.52% | 51 / 95 | 42 | Government | |
| 1960 (March) | 647,175 | 21.28% | 46 / 151 | 5 | C. P. de Silva | Opposition |
| 1960 (July) | 1,022,171 | 33.22% | 75 / 151 | 29 | Sirimavo Bandaranaike | Government |
| 1965 | 1,221,437 | 30.18% | 41 / 151 | 34 | Opposition | |
| 1970 | 1,839,979 | 36.86% | 91 / 151 | 50 | Government | |
| 1977 | 1,855,331 | 29.72% | 8 / 168 | 83 | Opposition | |
| 1989 | 1,780,599 | 31.8% | 67 / 225 | 59 | Opposition | |
| 1994 | Was part of People's Alliance | Chandrika Kumaratunga | Government | |||
| 2000 | Was part of People's Alliance | Government | ||||
| 2001 | Was part of People's Alliance | Opposition | ||||
| 2004 | Was part of United People's Freedom Alliance | Government | ||||
| 2010 | Was part of United People's Freedom Alliance | Mahinda Rajapaksa | Government | |||
| Opposition(2015)[80] | ||||||
| 2015 | Was part of United People's Freedom Alliance | Maithripala Sirisena | Government/Opposition(2015–2018)[b] | |||
| Opposition(2018–2019)[81] | ||||||
| 2020 | Was part of Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance | Government(2020–2022) | ||||
| Opposition(since 2022) | ||||||
| 2024 | Was part of New Democratic Front | Nimal Siripala de Silva | Opposition | |||
There have been a total of3 presidents from the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.
| # | Portrait | President (birth–death) | Home Province | Took office | Left office | Tenure | Prime Minister (Term) | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | | Chandrika Kumaratunga (b. 1945) | Western | 12 November 1994 | 19 November 2005 | 11 years, 7 days | | Sirimavo Bandaranaike (1994–2000) |
 | Ratnasiri Wickremanayake (2000–2001) | |||||||
 | Ranil Wickremesinghe (2001–2004) | |||||||
| Mahinda Rajapaksa (2004–2005) | |||||||
| 2 | | Mahinda Rajapaksa (b. 1945) | Southern | 19 November 2005 | 9 January 2015 | 9 years, 51 days | | Ratnasiri Wickremanayake (2005–2010) |
 | D. M. Jayaratne (2010–2015) | |||||||
| 3 | | Maithripala Sirisena (b. 1951) | North Central | 9 January 2015 | 18 November 2019 | 4 years, 313 days | | Ranil Wickremesinghe (2015–2019) |
| Mahinda Rajapaksa (2018) (disputed) | |||||||
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