The National Unity Alliance ( ta, தேசிய ஐக்கியக் கூட்டமைப்பு) is a
political alliance
A political group is a group consisting of political parties or legislators of aligned ideologies. A technical group is similar to a political group, but with members of differing ideologies.
International terms
Equivalent terms are used differ ...
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 ...
. Founded in 1999, the alliance ceased to exist in 2010 when its remaining members joined the
Sri Lanka Freedom Party
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය, translit=Śrī Laṁkā Nidahas Pakṣaya; ta, இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி, translit=Ilaṅkai Cutantirak Ka ...
. However,
Azath Salley
Mohamed Azath Sanoon Salley ( si, මොහොමඩ් අසාත් සනූන් සාලි) (born 18 September 1963) is a Sri Lankan politician and the eighth Governor of the Western Province.
Salley was the deputy mayor of Colombo, ...
subsequently assumed leadership of the party and the party is presently active.
[https://elections.gov.lk/en/political_party/political_party_list_E.html]
Present Status
The National Unity Alliance's was re-activated by Mr.
Azath S. Salley by a Fundamental Rights petition with the Supreme Court of Sri Lanka. The party is presently 'active' and is recognized by the Elections Commission of Sri Lanka. The leader of the party is
Azath Salley
Mohamed Azath Sanoon Salley ( si, මොහොමඩ් අසාත් සනූන් සාලි) (born 18 September 1963) is a Sri Lankan politician and the eighth Governor of the Western Province.
Salley was the deputy mayor of Colombo, ...
.
History
Sri Lanka Muslim Congress
The Sri Lanka Muslim Congress ( ta, சிறீலங்கா முஸ்லீம் காங்கிரஸ், translit=Srīlaṅkā Muslīm Kāṅkiras; si, ශ්රී ලංකා මුස්ලිම් කොංග්රස ...
(SLMC) leader
M. H. M. Ashraff started discussions on forming a new political alliance in 1998.
The purpose of the alliance was to bring about unity among Sri Lanka's differing communities.
Although initial discussions weren't successful, the alliance was eventually registered with the Department of Elections as a political party on 23 August 1999 with the name National Unity Alliance (NUA).
Two political parties were members of the NUA - the SLMC and the Sri Lanka Progressive Front.
The aim of the NUA was to create a united Sri Lanka by 2012 and its motto was "Mother Lanka wants every citizen – All citizens want one Sri Lanka".
Both the SLMC and the NUA were members of the governing
People's Alliance (PA) but by 2000 relations between the SLMC/NUA and PA had become strained. The SLMC/NUA nevertheless contested the
2000 parliamentary election in alliance with PA - in some
electoral districts
An electoral district, also known as an election district, legislative district, voting district, constituency, riding, ward, division, or (election) precinct is a subdivision of a larger state (a country, administrative region, or other polity ...
the SLMC fielded candidates under the PA whilst in others it fielded candidates under the NUA. Contesting in 13 electoral districts the NUA received 197,983 votes (2.29%), winning four seats in
Parliament
In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: Representation (politics), representing the Election#Suffrage, electorate, making laws, and overseeing ...
. The SLMC also secured seven seats under the PA.
During the 2000 election campaign Ashraff was killed in a mysterious helicopter crash on 16 September 2000.
Just before his death Ashraff had sent faxes to the media stating that the SLMC and NUA had severed all ties with the PA.
Following Ashraff's death
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 ...
became the SLMC's "thesiya thalaivar" (national leader) but there was a power struggle between Ashraff's widow
Ferial Ashraff and Hakeem for control of the SLMC.
In June 2001
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 ...
Chandrika Kumaratunga
Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga ( si, චන්ද්රිකා බණ්ඩාරනායක කුමාරතුංග, ta, சந்திரிகா பண்டாரநாயக்க குமாரதுங்க; born 29 Ju ...
dismissed Hakeem from the
cabinet
Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to:
Furniture
* Cabinetry, a box-shaped piece of furniture with doors and/or drawers
* Display cabinet, a piece of furniture with one or more transparent glass sheets or transparent polycarbonate sheets
* Filing ...
. All SLMC/NUA ministers, including Ferial Ashraff, resigned from the
government
A government is the system or group of people governing an organized community, generally a state.
In the case of its broad associative definition, government normally consists of legislature, executive, and judiciary. Government is a ...
on the instructions of the SLMC leadership.
The SLMC leadership also decided that the SLCM should leave the PA and join the
opposition
Opposition may refer to:
Arts and media
* ''Opposition'' (Altars EP), 2011 EP by Christian metalcore band Altars
* The Opposition (band), a London post-punk band
* ''The Opposition with Jordan Klepper'', a late-night television series on Comed ...
.
However, Ferial Ashraff remained in the PA as leader of the NUA.
Three SLMC MPs loyal to Ashraff -
Wimalaweera Dissanayake
Wimalaweera Dissanayake () is a Sri Lankan politician and current member of parliament for Digamadulla District. He was elected on 18 August 2015 from United People's Freedom Alliance. After the 2019 Presidential election, the newly elected pres ...
, U. M. Hanifa and
U. L. M. Mohideen - also remained in the PA.
Contesting under the PA, the NUA secured two seats in Parliament - Ashraff and
M. H. Segu Isadean - at the
2001 parliamentary election. On 20 January 2004 the
Sri Lanka Freedom Party
The Sri Lanka Freedom Party ( si, ශ්රී ලංකා නිදහස් පක්ෂය, translit=Śrī Laṁkā Nidahas Pakṣaya; ta, இலங்கை சுதந்திரக் கட்சி, translit=Ilaṅkai Cutantirak Ka ...
(SLFP) and the
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP; ) is a Marxist–Leninist communist party and a former militant organization in Sri Lanka. The movement was involved in two armed uprisings against the government of Sri Lanka: once in 1971 (SLFP), and anot ...
(JVP) formed 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) as a successor to the PA. The NUA joined the UPFA on 2 February 2004. The NUA contested the
2004 parliamentary election under the UPFA and Ashraff and Isadean retained their seats. After the election Ashraff was appointed as a cabinet minister whilst Isadean became a deputy minister.
The alliance became moribund thereafter and in February 2010 Ferial Ashraff and other NUA members joined the SLFP. The alliance was de-registered as a political party in 2012.,
this was later challenged in court by
Azath Salley
Mohamed Azath Sanoon Salley ( si, මොහොමඩ් අසාත් සනූන් සාලි) (born 18 September 1963) is a Sri Lankan politician and the eighth Governor of the Western Province.
Salley was the deputy mayor of Colombo, ...
and the party continues under Mr. Salley's leadership.
References
{{Sri Lankan political parties
1999 establishments in Sri Lanka
2010 disestablishments in Sri Lanka
Defunct political party alliances in Sri Lanka
Islamic political parties in Sri Lanka
Political parties disestablished in 2010
Political parties established in 1999
Political parties in Sri Lanka