The National Congress ( ta, தேசிய காங்கிரஸ், translit=Tēciya Kāṅkiras; si, ජාතික කොංග්රසය, translit=Jātika Koṁgrasaya) is a registered political party in
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka (, ; si, ශ්රී ලංකා, Śrī Laṅkā, translit-std=ISO (); ta, இலங்கை, Ilaṅkai, translit-std=ISO ()), formerly known as Ceylon and officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, is an ...
.
It was founded in 2004 by
A. L. M. Athaullah.
[ The National Congress is a member of the ]United People's Freedom Alliance
The United People's Freedom Alliance (abbreviated UPFA; si, එක්සත් ජනතා නිදහස් සන්ධානය ''Eksath Janathā Nidahas Sandānaya''; ta, ஐக்கிய மக்கள் சுதந்திரக ...
(UPFA).
History
Following the death of M. H. M. Ashraff, the leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress ( ta, சிறீலங்கா முஸ்லீம் காங்கிரஸ், translit=Srīlaṅkā Muslīm Kāṅkiras; si, ශ්රී ලංකා මුස්ලිම් කොංග්රස ...
(SLMC), in September 2000 there was a power struggle between Ashraff's widow Ferial Ashraff and Rauff Hakeem
Abdul Rauff Hibbathul Hakeem (born 13 April 1960) is a Sri Lankan politician and current member of parliament, representing the Kandy electorate since 2010. Hakeem is the leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC), and a member of the Unite ...
for control of the party. In June 2001 Hakeem, A. L. M. Athaullah and some other SLMC MPs left the governing People's Alliance (PA).[ Ferial Ashraff remained in the PA as leader of the ]National Unity Alliance
The National Unity Alliance ( ta, தேசிய ஐக்கியக் கூட்டமைப்பு) is a political alliance in Sri Lanka. Founded in 1999, the alliance ceased to exist in 2010 when its remaining members joined the Sri La ...
.[
In October 2001 the Hakeem led SLMC joined 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), ...
dominated United National Front (UNF). The UNF defeated the PA at the 2001 parliamentary election after which Hakeem was appointed a cabinet minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, ...
in the UNF government. Athaullah was only given a non-cabinet ministerial position.[ This caused jealousy amongst Athaullah and other SLMC members who accused Hakeem of monopolising cabinet ministerial positions for himself.][ Another leadership battle emerged in the SLMC, this time between Hakeem and Athaullah. In December 2002 Hakeem suspended Athaullah who was chairman of the SLMC. A legal battle ensued after which Athaullah and his supporters were expelled from the SLMC.
Athaullah and his supporters launched the Ashraff Congress political party on 25 February 2003. In February 2004 Athaullah and some others left the Ashraff Congress to form the National Muslim Congress (NMC) which became a constituent member of the newly formed UPFA, the successor to the PA.
The NMC contested the 2004 parliamentary election on the UPFA ticket, winning two seats in Parliament - Athaullah in ]Ampara District
Ampara District ( ta, அம்பாறை மாவட்டம், translit=Ampāṟai Māvaṭṭam; si, අම්පාර දිස්ත්රික්කය, translit=Ampāra Distrikkaya) is one of the 25 districts of Sri Lanka, the s ...
and M. I. Anwer Ismail on the National List.[ Athaullah was made a cabinet minister in the new UPFA government whilst Ismail became a deputy minister. The NMC changed its name to National Congress (NC) in September 2005. Following the death of Ismail in September 2007 the NC was reduced to a single MP. Athaullah retained his parliamentary seat and cabinet position at the 2010 parliamentary election.][ The NC won three seats on the ]Eastern Provincial Council
The Eastern Provincial Council (EPC ta, கிழக்கு மாகாண சபை ''Kiḻakku Mākāṇa Capai''; si, නැගෙනහිර පළාත් සභාව “Nagenahira Palat Sabava”; EPC) is the provincial council for ...
at the 2012 provincial council election. At the 2015 presidential election, whilst other Muslim political parties flocked to support common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena
Maithripala Yapa Sirisena ( si, පල්ලෙවත්ත ගමරාළලාගේ මෛත්රීපාල යාපා සිරිසේන; ta, பல்லேவத்த கமராளலாகே மைத்திரி ...
, the NC remained loyal to President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
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 ...
. Following Sirisena's victory Athaullah lost his ministerial position.
References
{{Sri Lankan political parties
2004 establishments in Sri Lanka
Islamic political parties in Sri Lanka
Political parties established in 2004
Political parties in Sri Lanka
United People's Freedom Alliance