Flashback 

Mahinda comeback attempt:

A ripple in the political firmament

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

Sri Lanka has experienced a decade of United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) rule, one of the broadest and strongest political coalitions created during recent history.

The People's Alliance (PA) formed in 1994 transformed as the UPFA in alliance with the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) which forged an alliance in January, 2004 upon a platform of new liberal-socio economic program and the aim of defeating terrorism. At the April 2004 legislative elections, the UPFA secured 45.6 percent of the popular vote and 105 out of 225 seats.

On February 7, 2004, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga dissolved Parliament and called for General Elections on April 2, 2004, though the term was to end in December 2006. The new Cabinet was formed post 2004 General Election which included four JVP parliamentarians. The cohabitation government did not last long and the JVP withdrew from the UPFA Government on June 16, 2005 as a mark of protest against President Kumaratunga's decision to sign the P-TOMS (Post Tsunami Operational Management Structure) agreement with the Liberation Tigers on June 24 2005.

On August 26, 2005, a five-judge Bench of the Supreme Court ruled that presidential elections should take place between October 28 and November 22, 2005. Rajapaksa secured a marginal victory and was elected fifth Executive President, obtaining 50.29 percent or 4,887,152 votes polled, while his closest rival Ranil Wickremesinghe, leading the UNP obtained 47.43 percent or 4,706,366 votes.

The UPFA became the strongest political force in the next few years and following the defeat of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in May 2009 amd its popularity further increased among the majority Sinhalese.

President Rajapaksa secured a second term comfortably on January 26, 2010, campaigning on a platform of strong Sinhala nationalism and the victory against the Tigers. Riding on the presidential election victory, the UPFA secured a landslide victory at the 2010 General Elections, polling 4.8 million votes out of 8.6 million votes polled.

Mandate

The UPFA secured 144 seats in parliament which later reached 160 seats following crossovers, giving President Rajapaksa the requisite majority to amend the Constitution. The mandate was used to further strengthen the Executive Presidency by enacting an 18th Amendment to the Constitution, diluting the 17th Amendment. This Constitutional Amendment also removed the two -term restriction placed on a president, enabling Rajapaksa to contest future presidential elections.

President Rajapaksa's attempt to win a third term was foiled by former SLFP General Secretary, Maithripala Sirisena, who defected in November 2014. Sirisena effectively defeated Rajapaksa on January 8.

A UNP- led minority government with Ranil Wickremesinghe as the new Prime Minister was elected. A group of SLFP parliamentarians joined the UNP- led government and transformed it into a national government, introducing a 100- Day Program to offer quick solutions to the people.

The first strong resistance was to the proposed 19th Amendment to the Constitution which was finally carried through.

President Sirisena dissolved Parliament on June 26, 2015 and scheduled a General Election for August 17.

The anti-Rajapaksa forces formed a common front, the United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG), led by the UNP. Subsequently, a few SLFP stalwarts and some coalition partners of the UPFA also announced their decision to contest from the UNFGG.

The SLFP suspended the Central Committee membership of five SLFP politicians, Dr. Rajitha Senaratne, Arjuna Ranatunga, M.K.A.D.S. Gunawardena, S.B. Nawinna and Hirunika Premachandra who are on the UNFGG ticket.

Meanwhile, the UPFA has also lost the support of its strong allies, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress and the Jathika Hela Urumaya as well as others.

Still, the UPFA remains Sri Lanka's broadest electoral alliance, consisting of over 13 political parties.

The UPFA's campaign theme is: 'Let's Power the Nation, Let's Start Afresh.' The election is also being used to re-launch Mahinda Rajapaksa as a parliamentarian - with his eyes clearly set on the post of Prime Minister.