The Joint Opposition ( si, ඒකාබද්ධ විපක්ෂය, translit=Ekabadda Vipakshaya ; ta, கூட்டு எதிர்ப்பு , translit=Kuttu Etiruppu) was a political alliance formed by a faction of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) alongside several of the major quasi-left-wing parties of Sri Lanka. It was once the largest opposition group in the

Sri Lankan Parliament The Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka (Sinhala: ශ්‍රී ලංකා පාර්ලිමේන්තුව ''Shri Lanka Parlimenthuwa'', Tamil: இலங்கை நாடாளுமன்றம் ''Ila� ...

. It was formed after the two major parties, the SLFP and the

United National Party The United National Party, often abbreviated as UNP ( si, එක්සත් ජාතික පක්ෂය, translit=Eksath Jāthika Pakshaya, ta, ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி, translit=Aikkiya Tēciyak Kaṭci), ...

(UNP) forming a unity government, leading to a great degree of discontent amongst many SLFP members (mostly those loyal to former President

Mahinda Rajapaksa Mahinda Rajapaksa ( si, මහින්ද රාජපක්ෂ, ta, மஹிந்த ராஜபக்ஷ; born Percy Mahendra Rajapaksa; 18 November 1945) is a Sri Lankan politician. He served as the President of Sri Lanka from 2005 to ...

), who then went on to form the Joint Opposition alongside other parties from the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA). It aims to give voice to the mandate voters provided to the UPFA at the 2015 general election in which many loyal SLFP members felt abandoned when the party joined the UNP-led government. The organization largely consisted of

loyalists and was very critical of the administration of President

Maithripala Sirisena Maithripala Yapa Sirisena ( si, පල්ලෙවත්‍ත ගමරාළලාගේ මෛත්‍රීපාල යාපා සිරිසේන; ta, பல்லேவத்த கமராளலாகே மைத்திரி� ...

and Prime Minister

Ranil Wickremasinghe Ranil Wickremesinghe ( si, රනිල් වික්‍රමසිංහ, ta, ரணில் விக்கிரமசிங்க; born 24 March 1949) is a Sri Lankan politician who is the current president of Sri Lanka since 21 July 2 ...

. The alliance also prominently included individuals outside the parliament such as D. E. W. Gunasekera and

G. L. Peiris Gamini Lakshman Peiris ( Sinhala: ගාමීණි ලක්ෂ්මණ් පීරිස්, Tamil: காமினி லக்ஷ்மன் பீரிஸ்) (born 13 August 1946) is a Sri Lankan politician and academic. He was the ...

who were denied parliamentary seats due to President Sirisena's decision to appoint defeated loyalists into parliament through the National List. The leader of the Joint Opposition was

Mahajana Eksath Peramuna The Mahajana Eksath Peramuna (People's United Front) is a political party in Sri Lanka Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්‍රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), for ...

leader Dinesh Gunawardena.

Constituent Parties

*Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( Rajapaksa faction) *

Lanka Sama Samaja Party The Lanka Sama Samaja Party, often abbreviated as LSSP (Literal translation, literally: Lanka Socialist Party, Sinhalese language, Sinhala: ලංකා සම සමාජ පක්ෂය, Tamil language, Tamil: லங்கா சமசமா� ...

* Upcountry National Front *

Democratic Left Front The Democratic Left Front was formed as a non-sectarian and non-authoritarian anti-capitalist front in South Africa. It was formed from the ''Conference for a Democratic Left'' launched in 2008, at an event held in Johannesburg in January 2011. It ...

National Freedom Front The Jathika Nidahas Peramuna (JNP) or ''National Freedom Front'' (NFF) is a political party in Sri Lanka was formed by the ten JVP parliamentarians led by Wimal Weerawansa, the breakaway group of Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna or JVP, started their po ...

* Pivithuru Hela Urumaya

References

External links

{{Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna 2015 establishments in Sri Lanka Defunct political party alliances in Sri Lanka Political parties established in 2015