List of political parties in Sri Lanka
Template:Short description Template:Sidebar with collapsible lists 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:
- the centre-left social democratic Sri Lanka Freedom Party
- the centre-right liberal conservative United National Party
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.<ref>Template:Cite news</ref>
Other notable parties include the Tamil nationalist Ilankai Tamil Arasu Kachchi and the Islamist Sri Lanka Muslim Congress.
Alliances
Parliamentary alliances
Other alliances
| Alliance | Symbol | Political position | Ideology | Founded | Leader | MPs | MPCs | MLGs | Notes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="background:Template:Party color;"| | Tamil Progressive Alliance දෙමළ ප්රගතිශීලී සන්ධානය தமிழ் முற்போக்கு கூட்டணி |
 |
Centre-left | Tamil nationalism Indian Tamil interests |
Template:Dts | Mano Ganesan | Template:Composition bar | Template:Composition bar | Template:Composition bar | Allied with the SJB |
Parties
Parliamentary registered parties
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Other registered parties
Unregistered parties
| Party | Election Symbol | Founded | Current leader | Alliance | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | Freedom People's Congress {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Template:N/A | Template:Dts | Dullas Alahapperuma | SJB |
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Praba Ganesan | DNA | ||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | Jathika Hela Urumaya {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Template:Dts | Ven.Omalpe Sobhitha Thero | SJB | |
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Template:Dts | Upulangani Malagamuwa | ||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
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| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
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| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | Ceylon Communist Party (Maoist) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Template:Dts | |||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | Ceylon Democratic Unity Alliance {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Template:Dts | T. V. Chennan | ||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Praba Ganesan | DTNF | ||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | Eelam National Democratic Liberation Front {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Template:Dts | |||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Azath Salley | |||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | Bahujana Nidahas Peramuna {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Template:Dts | |||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Template:Dts | Kamal Karunadasa | ||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | People's Tamil Congress {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
L. P. Shanmuganathan | |||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | Revolutionary Workers PartyTemplate:Efn {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Template:Dts | |||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Tissa Attanayake | |||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Template:Dts | |||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | Upcountry National Front {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Template:Dts | Rishi Senthil Raj | ||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
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| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | Sri Lanka National ForceTemplate:Efn {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
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| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
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| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
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| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
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| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | Eelam People's Revolutionary Liberation Front (Suresh Wing) {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Template:Dts | Suresh Premachandran | ||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Ananthi Sasitharan | |||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
M. K. Shivajilingam N. Srikantha |
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| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | Democratic Tamil National Front ප්රජාතන්ත්රවාදී දෙමළ ජාතික පෙරමුණ மக்களாட்சி தமிழ்த் தேசிய முன்னணி |
Template:Dts | V. Anandasangaree | ||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | Muslim National Alliance මුස්ලිම් ජාතික සන්ධානය முஸ்லிம் தேசிய கூட்டமைப்பு |
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Defunct/dormant
Alliances
| Alliance | Political position | Ideology | Founded | Dissolved | Notes | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| style="background:Template:Party color;"| | Left Liberation FrontTemplate:Efn වාමාංශික විමුක්ති පෙරමුණ இடது விடுதலை முன்னணி |
Far-left | Communism Trotskyism |
Template:Dts | |||||||
| style="background:Template:Party color;"| | United Front සමගි පෙරමුණ ஐக்கிய முன்னணி |
Left-wing | Big tent | Template:Dts | Template:Dts | ||||||
| style="background:Template:Party color;"| | People's Alliance පොදු ජන එක්සත් පෙරමුණ மக்கள் கூட்டணி |
Big tent | Template:Dts | Template:Dts | Most members joined the UPFA | ||||||
| style="background:Template:Party color;" | | National Unity Alliance ජාතික සමගි සන්ධානය தேசிய ஐக்கியக் கூட்டமைப்பு |
Centre | Muslim minority politics |
Template:Dts | Template:Dts | Most members joined the SLFP | |||||
| style="background:Template:Party color;" | | Tamil National Liberation Alliance දෙමළ ජාතික විමුක්ති සන්ධානය தமிழ் தனிநாடு விடுதலை கூட்டணி |
Tamil nationalism | Template:Dts | Template:Dts | Members joined the TNA | ||||||
| style="background:Template:Party color;"| | Democratic National Alliance ප්රජාතන්ත්රවාදී ජාතික සන්ධානය ஜனநாயகக் கட்சி |
Big tent | Template:Dts | ||||||||
| style="background:Template:Party color;"| | United National Front එක්සත් ජාතික පෙරමුණ ஐக்கிய தேசிய முன்னணி |
Centre-right | Conservatism | Template:Dts | Template:Dts | Most members joined the SJB | |||||
| style="background:Template:Party color;"| | United People's Freedom Alliance එක්සත් ජනතා නිදහස් සන්ධානය ஐக்கிய மக்கள் சுதந்திரக் கூட்டணி |
Centre-left | Social democracy Sinhalese nationalism |
Template:Dts | Template:Dts | Most members joined the SLPFA | |||||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | Joint Opposition ඒකාබද්ධ විපක්ෂය கூட்டு எதிர்ப்பு |
Right-wing | Right-wing populism Social democracy Sinhalese nationalism Anti-federalism Anti-imperialism Pro-Rajapaksa politics |
Template:Dts | Template:Dts | Most members joined the SLPFA | |||||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | Socialist Alliance {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Left-wing to far-left | Socialism Communism |
Template:Start date | Template:Start date | ||||||
| style="background:Template:Party color;"| | Sri Lanka People's Freedom Alliance {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Big tent | Social democracy<ref>{{#invoke:citation/CS1|citation | CitationClass=web
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Template:Dts | Template:Dts | Many members joined the opposition |
| style="background:Template:Party color;"| | Freedom People's Alliance {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Centre-left to far-left | Social democracy Sinhalese nationalism Anti-Rajapaksa politics |
Template:Dts | Template:Dts | ||||||
| bgcolor=Template:Party color| | Supreme Lanka Coalition උත්තර ලංකා සභාගය உத்தர லங்கா சபாகய |
Left-wing to far-left | Left-wing nationalism Sinhalese nationalism Anti-Rajapaksa politics |
Template:Dts | 2024 | Most members joined the SB | |||||
| style="background:Template:Party color;"| | Tamil People's National Alliance {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Centre-left | Tamil nationalism | Template:Dts | Template:Dts | ||||||
| style="background:Template:Party color;"| | Tamil National Alliance {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} {{#invoke:Lang|lang}} |
Centre-left | Tamil nationalism Federalism |
Template:Dts | Template:Dts | Most members joined the DTNA | |||||
Parties
Notes
References
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