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List of political parties in Sri Lanka - Wikipedia

  • ️Sun Aug 05 2012

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article lists political parties in Sri Lanka.

Sri Lanka has a multi-party political system. Starting from the early 1950s, Sri Lankan politics was mostly dominated by two political parties and their respective coalitions:

Recently, however, the influence of the two parties has diminished significantly. In 2016, the right-wing populist Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna led by former president Mahinda Rajapaksa split from the SLFP, and following an unexpected victory in the 2018 local elections, replaced the SLFP as a main party, before becoming the ruling party following its victories in the 2019 presidential election and 2020 parliamentary election.

Meanwhile, the UNP suffered a split of its own in the lead-up to the 2020 parliamentary election, when deputy leader Sajith Premadasa split from the UNP and formed the Samagi Jana Balawegaya to contest in the election. The SJB-led coalition won the 2nd most seats in the election, thus making the SJB the main opposition party, while the UNP suffered an overwhelming defeat, only winning one national list seat.

Following widespread dissatisfaction with the traditional Sri Lankan political parties amidst the 2022 Sri Lankan protests, in 2024, the left-wing National People's Power, a political alliance led by the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna, saw a surge in popular support. Formerly a third party, the NPP emerged as the main left-wing party of Sri Lanka, winning both the presidential and parliamentary elections that year.[1]

Other notable parties include the Tamil nationalist Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi and the Islamist Sri Lanka Muslim Congress.

Parliamentary alliances

[edit]

Parliamentary registered parties

[edit]

Party Election Symbol Political position Ideology Founded Leader MPs MPCs MLGs
National People's Power (NPP)
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ
மக்கள் விடுதலை முன்னணி
Far-left Communism
Marxism–Leninism
Anti-revisionism
Revolutionary socialism
Anti-imperialism
Progressivism
1965 Anura Kumara Dissanayake

159 / 225

0 / 455

15 / 8,741

Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB)
Samagi Jana Balawegaya
සමගි ජනබලවේගය
ஐக்கிய மக்கள் சக்தி
Centre-right Liberal conservatism
Social democracy
2020 Sajith Premadasa

32 / 225

0 / 455

6 / 8,741

Sri Lanka Muslim Congress
ශ්‍රී ලංකා මුස්ලිම් කොංග්‍රසය
சிறீலங்கா முஸ்லிம் காங்கிரசு
Centre Muslim minority politics 1981 Rauff Hakeem

5 / 225

0 / 455

0 / 8,741

All Ceylon Makkal Congress
සමස්ත ලංකා මහජන කොංග්‍රසය
அகில இலங்கை மக்கள் காங்கிரஸ்
Centre Muslim minority politics 2005 Rishad Bathiudeen

3 / 225

0 / 455

0 / 8,741

Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Dayasiri wing)
ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය
இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி
Centre-left Social democracy
Sinhalese nationalism
Left-wing nationalism
1951 Dayasiri Jayasekara[a]

1 / 225

0 / 455

0 / 8,741

Democratic People's Front
ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී ජනතා පෙරමුණ
மக்களாட்சி மக்கள் முன்னணி
Centre Indian Tamil interests 2000 Mano Ganesan

1 / 225

0 / 455

0 / 8,741

National Union of Workers
ජාතික කම්කරු සංගමය
தொழிலாளர் தேசிய சங்கம்
Centre Indian Tamil interests 1965 Palani Digambaran

1 / 225

0 / 455

0 / 8,741

Up-Country People's Front
කඳුරට ජනතා පෙරමුණ
மலையக மக்கள் முன்னணி
Centre Indian Tamil interests 1989 V. Radhakrishnan

1 / 225

0 / 455

0 / 8,741

New Democratic Front (NDF)
People's United Freedom Alliance
පොදු ජන එක්සත් නිදහස් සන්ධානය
மக்கள் ஐக்கிய சுதந்திரக் கூட்டணி
2024 Dinesh Gunawardene

2 / 225

0 / 455

1 / 8,741

Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Nimal wing)
ශ්‍රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය
இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி
Centre-left Social democracy
Sinhalese nationalism
Left-wing nationalism
1951 Nimal Siripala de Silva[a]

2 / 225

0 / 455

0 / 8,741

United National Party
එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය
ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி
Centre-right Liberal conservatism
Economic liberalism
1946 Ranil Wickremesinghe

1 / 225

0 / 455

0 / 8,741

Ceylon Workers' Congress
ලංකා කම්කරු කොංග්‍රසය
இலங்கை தொழிலாளர் காங்கிரஸ்
Centre Agrarian socialism
Indian Tamil interests
1939 Jeewan Thondaman

1 / 225

0 / 455

0 / 8,741

Sarvajana Balaya (SB)
Mawbima Janatha Pakshaya
මව්බිම ජනතා පක්ෂය
தாய்நாடு ஜனதா கட்சி
Centre-left Sinhalese nationalism 2023 Dilith Jayaweera

1 / 225

0 / 455

0 / 8,741

Democratic Tamil National Alliance (DTNA)
Tamil Eelam Liberation Organization
ද්‍රවිඩ ඊලම් විමුක්ති සංවිධානය
தமிழீழ விடுதலை இயக்கம்
Syncretic Tamil nationalism 1979 Selvam Adaikalanathan

1 / 225

0 / 455

0 / 8,741

Tamil National People's Front (TNPF)
All Ceylon Tamil Congress
අකිල ඉලංකෙයි තමිල් කොංග්‍රස්
அகில இலங்கைத் தமிழ்க் காங்கிரஸ்
Centre-left Tamil nationalism 1944 Gajendrakumar Ponnambalam

1 / 225

0 / 455

0 / 8,741

Other parties
Illankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi
ශ්‍රී ලංකා දෙමළ රාජ්‍ය පක්ෂය
இலங்கைத் தமிழரசுக் கட்சி
Centre-left Tamil nationalism 1949 S. Shritharan

8 / 225

0 / 455

0 / 8,741

Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
ශ්‍රී ලංකා පොදුජන පෙරමුණ
இலங்கை பொதுஜன முன்னணி
Right-wing Neoconservatism
Sinhalese nationalism
Right-wing populism
2016 Mahinda Rajapaksa

3 / 225

0 / 455

3 / 8,741

Sri Lanka Labour Party
ශ්‍රී ලංකා කම්කරු පක්ෂය
ஸ்ரீலங்கா தொழிலாளர் கட்சி
1998 A. S. P. Liyanage

1 / 225

0 / 455

0 / 8,741

Independent groups
ස්වාධීන කණ්ඩායම්
சுயாதீன குழுக்கள்

1 / 225

0 / 455

2 / 8,741

Other registered parties

[edit]

Party Election Symbol Founded Current leader MPs MPCs MLGs
All Ceylon Tamil Mahasabha[b]
සමස්ත ලංකා දෙමළ මහාසභා
அகில இலங்கை தமிழர் மகாசபை
2005 K. Vigneswaran
Our Power of People's Party
අපේ ජන බල පක්ෂය
நமது மக்கள் சக்தி கட்சி
Ven.Galgodaatte Gnanasara Thero
New Independent Front[c]
අභිනව නිවහල් පෙරමුණ
புதிய சுதந்திர முன்னணி
M. B. Thaminimulla
Arunalu People's Front
අරුණළු ජනතා පෙරමුණ
அருணலு மக்கள் முன்னணி
Eros Democratic Front
ඊරෝස් ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී පෙරමුණ
ஈரோஸ் ஜனநாயக முன்னணி
Eelam People's Democratic Party
ඊලාම් ජනතා ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී පක්ෂය
ஈழ மக்களாட்சி கட்சி
1987 Douglas Devananda
Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front
ඊලාම් ජනතා විප්ලවවාදී විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ
ஈழமக்கள் புரட்சிகர விடுதலை முன்னணி
1980 K. Pathmanabha
Varatharajah Perumal
United Republican Front
එක්සත් ජනරජ පෙරමුණ
ஐக்கிய குடியரசு முன்னணி
2023 Patali Champika Ranawaka
United National Freedom Front
එක්සත් ජාතික නිදහස් පෙරමුණ
ஐக்கிய தேசிய சுதந்திர முன்னணி
United National Alliance[d]
එක්සත් ජාතික සන්ධානය
ஐக்கிய தேசிய கூட்டமைப்பு
Democratic Unity Alliance
එක්සත් ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී සන්ධානය
ஜனநாயக ஐக்கிய முன்னணி
2004 Z. A. Naseer Ahamed
United Democratic Voice
එක්සත් ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී හඬ
ஐக்கிய ஜனநாயகக் குரல்
Ranjan Ramanayake
United People's Party
එක්සත් මහජන පක්‍ෂය
ஐக்கிய மக்கள் கட்சி
United Left Front
එක්සත් වාමාංශික පෙරමුණ
ஐக்கிய இடது முன்னணி
Jayampathy Wickramaratne
United Socialist Party
එක්සත් සමාජවාදි පක්ෂය
ஐக்கிய சோசலிச கட்சி
United Peace Alliance[e]
එක්සත් සාම සන්ධානය
ஐக்கிய சமாதான முன்னணி
People's Struggle Alliance
ජන අරගල සන්ධානය
மக்கள் போராட்டக் கூட்டணி
People's Servants Party
ජනතා සේවක පක්ෂය
மக்கள் சேவகர்கள் கட்சி
2015
People's Welfare Front
ජන සෙත පෙරමුණ
ஜனசெத பெரமுண
National Congress
ජාතික කොංග්‍රසය
தேசிய காங்கிரஸ்
A. L. M. Athaullah
National People's Party
ජාතික ජනතා පක්ෂය
தேசிய மக்கள் கட்சி

1 / 8,741

Jathika Nidahas Peramuna
ජාතික නිදහස් පෙරමුණ
தேசிய சுதந்திர முன்னணி
2008 Wimal Weerawansa
National Democratic Front
ජාතික ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී පෙරමුණ
தேசிய ஜனநாயக முன்னணி
Aruna de Zoysa
National Development Front
ජාතික සංවර්ධන පෙරමුණ
தேசிய அபிவிருத்தி முன்னணி
2000 Dr. Sarath Bandaranayake
National Peace Front
ජාතික සමගි පෙරමුණ
தேசிய ஒற்றுமை முன்னணி
Tamil People's Alliance
දෙමළ ජනතා සන්ධානය
தமிழ் மக்கள் கூட்டணி
C. V. Wigneswaran
Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal
තමිළ් මක්කල් විඩුදලෛප් පුළිකල්
தமிழ் மக்கள் விடுதலைப் புலிகள்
2004 S. Chandrakanthan
Tamil Social Democratic Party
දෙමළ සමාජ ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍ර පක්‍ෂය
தமிழ் சமூக ஜனநாயக கட்சி
The Second Generation
දෙවන පරපුර
இரண்டாம் தலைமுறை
Uvindu Wijeweera
Patriotic People's Power
දේශප්‍රේමී ජනතා බලවේගය
தேசபக்தி மக்கள் சக்தி
Desha Vimukthi Janatha Pakshaya
දේශ විමුක්ති ජනතා පක්ෂය
தேச விமுக்தி ஜனதா பக்ஷய
1988
Tamil United Liberation Front[f]
ද්‍රවිඩ එක්සත් විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ
தமிழர் விடுதலைக் கூட்டணி
1972 V. Anandasangaree
New Democratic Marxist–Leninist Party
නව ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී මාක්ස්වාදී ලෙනින්වාදී පක්ෂය
புதிய ஜனநாயக மார்க்சிஸ்ட் லெனினிஸ்ட் கட்சி
New Lanka Freedom Party
නව ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය
புதிய இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி
2020
Nava Sama Samaja Party
නව සමසමාජ පක්ෂය
நவ சம சமாஜக் கட்சி
1977 Vikramabahu Karunaratne
New Sinhala Heritage
නව සිහළ උරුමය
நவ சிஹல உறுமய
2006 Sarath Manamendra
Freedom People's Front
නිදහස් ජනතා පෙරමුණ
சுதந்திர மக்கள் முன்னணி
2022 Nalaka Godahewa
Pivithuru Hela Urumaya
පිවිතුරු හෙළ උරුමය
பிவிதுரு ஹெல உருமய
Udaya Gammanpila
Frontline Socialist Party
පෙරටුගාමී සමාජවාදී පක්ෂය
முன்னிலை சோசலிசக் கட்சி
2012
People's Alliance
පොදු ජන එක්සත් පෙරමුණ
பொது ஜன முன்னணி
1994
Democratic United National Front
ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී එක්සත් ජාතික පෙරමුණ
ஜனநாயக ஐக்கிய தேசிய முன்னணி
1990 Ariyawansa Dissanayake
Democratic People's Liberation Front
ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී ජනතා විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ
மக்கட்தலை மக்கள் விடுதலை முன்னணி
1988 D. Siddarthan
Democratic National Alliance
ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී ජාතික සන්ධානය
மக்களாட்சி தேசியக் கூட்டணி
2009
Democratic Party
ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී පක්ෂය
சனநாயகக் கட்சி
2013 Sarath Fonseka
Democratic Left Front
ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී වාමාංශික පෙරමුණ
மக்களாட்சி இடதுசாரி முன்னணி
1999 Vasudeva Nanayakkara
Mahajana Eksath Peramuna
මහජන එක්සත් පෙරමුණ‍
மகாஜன எக்சத் பெரமுன
1959 Dinesh Gunawardena
United National Front for Good Governance
යහපාලනය සඳහා වූ ජාතික පෙරමුණ
நல்லாட்சிக்கான ஐக்கிய தேசிய முன்னணி
Abdul Rahman
Lanka Sama Samaja Party
ලංකා සම සමාජ පක්ෂය
இலங்கை சமசமாஜக் கட்சி
1935 Tissa Vitharana
Liberal Democratic Party
ලිබරල් ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී පක්ෂය
லிபரல் சனநாயகக் கட்சி
1987 Kamal Nissanka
Sri Lanka People's Party
ශ්‍රී ලංකා මහජන පක්ෂය
ஶ்ரீ லங்கா மக்கள் கட்சி
1984 Asanka Nawaratne
Communist Party of Sri Lanka
ශ්‍රී ලංකාවේ කොමියුනිස්ට් පක්ෂය
இலங்கை இனவாத கட்சி
1943 D. E. W. Gunasekera
Social Democratic Party of Sri Lanka
ශ්‍රී ලංකා සමාජ ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී පක්ෂය
இலங்கை சமூக ஜனநாயகக் கட்சி
2017 Rohan Pallewatta
Socialist Party of Sri Lanka
ශ්‍රී ලංකා සමාජවාදී පක්ෂය
இலங்கை சோசலிஸ்ட் கட்சி
2006
Samabima Party
සමබිම පක්ෂය
சமபிம கட்சி
Socialist Equality Party[g]
සමාජවාදී සමානතා පක්ෂය
சோசலிச சமத்துவக் கட்சி
1968
Sinhaladeepa Jathika Peramuna
සිංහලදීප ජාතික පෙරමුණ
சிங்களதீப தேசிய முன்னணி
Eelavar Democratic Front[h]
ඊලවර් ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී පෙරමුණ
ஈழவர் ஜனநாயக முன்னணி
1975 Eliyathamby Ratnasabapathy
V. Balakumaran
Shankar Rajee
United People's Freedom Alliance
එක්සත් ජනතා නිදහස් සන්ධානය
ஐக்கிய மக்கள் சுதந்திரக் கூட்டணி
2004
United Lanka People's Party
එක්සත් ලංකා පොදුජන පක්ෂය
எக்சத் லங்கா பொதுஜன பக்ஷய
United Lanka Mahasabha
එක්සත් ලංකා මහා සභාව
ஐக்கிய இலங்கை மகா சபை
Nath Amarakone
Lanka People's Party[i]
ලංකා ජනතා පක්ෂය
இலங்கை மக்கள் கட்சி
Sri Lanka Progressive Front
ශ්‍රී ලංකා ප්‍රගතිශීලී පෙරමුණ
ஸ்ரீலங்கா முற்போக்கு முன்னணி
1996 J. A. Peter Nelson Perera

Unregistered parties

[edit]

Party Election Symbol Founded Current leader Alliance
Freedom People's Congress
නිදහස ජනතා සභාව
சுதந்திர மக்கள் காங்கிரஸ்
2022 Dullas Alahapperuma SJB
Democratic National Front
ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී ජාතික පෙරමුණ
ஜனநாயக தேசிய முன்னணி
Praba Ganesan DNA
Jathika Hela Urumaya
ජාතික හෙළ උරුමය
ஜாதிக எல உறுமய
February 2004 Ven.Omalpe Sobhitha Thero SJB
Our National Front
අපේ ජාතික පෙරමුණ
எமது தேசிய முன்னணி
2009 Upulangani Malagamuwa
United Lanka National Front
එක්සත් ලංකා ජාතික පෙරමුණ
ஐக்கிய இலங்கை தேசிய முன்னணி
Buddhist People's Front
බොදු ජන පෙරමුණ
பௌத்த மக்கள் முன்னணி
Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist)
ලංකා කොමියුනිස්ට් පක්ෂය (මාඕවාදී)
இலங்கை கம்யூனிஸ்ட் கட்சி (மாவோயிஸ்ட்)
1964
Ceylon Democratic Unity Alliance
ලංකා ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී එක්සත් සන්ධානය
இலங்கை ஜனநாயக ஐக்கிய கூட்டணி
2002 T. V. Chennan
Democratic People's Congress
ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී මහජන කොංග්‍රසය
ஜனநாயக மக்கள் காங்கிரஸ்
Praba Ganesan DTNF
Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front
ඊළාම් ජාතික ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ
ஈழ தேசிய ஜனநாய விடுதலை முன்னணி
1987
Muslim Tamil National Alliance
මුස්ලිම් දෙමළ ජාතික සන්ධානය
முஸ்லிம் தமிழ் தேசிய கூட்டமைப்பு
Azath Salley
People's Freedom Front
ජනතා නිදහස් පෙරමුණ
மக்கள் சுதந்திர முன்னணி
1991
People's Liberation Solidarity Front
මහජන විමුක්ති සහයෝගිතා පෙරමුණ
மக்கள் விடுதலை ஒற்றுமை முன்னணி
1997 Kamal Karunadasa
People's Tamil Congress
මහජන දෙමළ කොංග්‍රසය
மக்கள் தமிழ் காங்கிரஸ்
L. P. Shanmuganathan
Revolutionary Workers Party[j]
විප්ලවවාදී කම්කරු පක්ෂය
புரட்சிகர தொழிலாளர் கட்சி
1968
United Citizens’ Front
එක්සත් පුරවැසි පෙරමුණ
ஐக்கிய குடிமக்கள் முன்னணி
Tissa Attanayake
United National Alternative Front
එක්සත් ජාතික විකල්ප පෙරමුණ
ஐக்கிய தேசிய மாற்று முன்னணி
2000
Upcountry National Front
කඳුරට ජාතික පෙරමුණ
மலையக தேசிய முன்னணி
2000 Rishi Senthil Raj
Green Party of Sri Lanka
ශ්‍රී ලංකා හරිත පක්ෂය
இலங்கை பசுமைக் கட்சி
Sri Lanka National Force[k]
ශ්‍රී ලංකා ජාතික බලය
ஸ்ரீ லங்கா தேசிய சக்தி
Sri Lanka Vanguard Party
ශ්‍රී ලංකා පෙරටුගාමී පක්ෂය
இலங்கை முன்னிலை கட்சி
Progressive Tamil Party
ප්‍රගතිශීලී දෙමළ පක්ෂය
முற்போக்குத்த தமிழர் கச்சி
Vijaya Dharani National Council
විජය ධරණි ජාතික සභාව
விஜய தரணி தேசிய கவுன்சில்
Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front(Suresh Wing)
ඊලාම් ජනතා විප්ලවවාදී විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ
ஈழ மக்கள் புரட்சிகர விடுதலை முன்னணி
2000 Suresh Premachandran
Ealam Tamil Self Rule Party
ඊලාම් තමිලර් සුයාට්ච්චි කච්චි
ஈழத் தமிழர் சுயாட்சிக் கட்சி
Ananthi Sasitharan
Tamil National Party
දෙමළ ජාතික පක්ෂය
தமிழரசுக் கட்சி
M. K. Shivajilingam
N. Srikantha
Democratic Tamil National Front
ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී දෙමළ ජාතික පෙරමුණ
மக்களாட்சி தமிழ்த் தேசிய முன்னணி
4 May 2016 V. Anandasangaree
Muslim National Alliance
මුස්ලිම් ජාතික සන්ධානය
முஸ்லிம் தேசிய கூட்டமைப்பு
  1. ^ a b Disputed since 2024.
  2. ^ Formerly All Lanka Tamil United Front.
  3. ^ Formerly Okkoma Wesiyo Okkoma Rajawaru Sanvidhanaya.
  4. ^ Formerly Muslim National Alliance.
  5. ^ Formerly Muslim Liberation Front.
  6. ^ Formerly Tamil United Front.
  7. ^ Formerly Revolutionary Communist League.
  8. ^ Political wing of Eelam Revolutionary Organisation of Students.
  9. ^ Formerly Sinhala Ravaya.
  10. ^ Formerly Revolutionary Samasamaja Party.
  11. ^ Formerly Patriotic National Front.
  12. ^ Formerly New Left Front, Left Front.
  13. ^ Formerly Bolshevik-Leninist Party of India, Ceylon and Burma.
  1. ^ Jayasinghe, Uditha (November 15, 2024). "Sri Lankan president's coalition wins big majority in general election". Reuters. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  2. ^ "BUSINESS TODAY -I Believe in the SLFP". businesstoday.lk.
  3. ^ "Re-nationalizing: New economic policy".
  4. ^ Perera, Jehan. "Prevent Vicious Cycle From Re-Emerging After Election". peace-srilanka.org. The National Peace Council of Sri Lanka. Retrieved 30 March 2018.
  5. ^ "The Politics of Demonizing Federalism and Depicting It as Separatism". Colombo, Sri Lanka: Daily Mirror. Retrieved 31 October 2019.
  6. ^ "Paradox of Pohottuwa's anti-Americanism with US soft diplomacy in Lankan politics". Colombo, Sri Lanka: The Sunday Times. Retrieved 31 October 2019.