Sri Lanka Freedom Party Turning 65 growing stronger

by Uditha Kumarasinghe

S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, SLFP Founder	Sirimavo Bandaranaike, world’s first woman Prime Minister

President Maithripala Sirisena, SLFP President

The 65th Convention of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) will be held at the Kurunegala Maligapitiya grounds on a grand scale today (September 4) under the auspices of President Maithripala Sirisena showcasing the strength and unity of the party. The upcoming Convention will be held with the participation of thousands of party loyalists representing every district of the country.

The party hierarchy has invited all members without any discrimination to ensure that there is no split in the party. According to SLFP stalwarts, the convention will be the largest and best attended in the SLFP’s history. The SLFP has made history, making vast strides in social development and cultural renaissance during decades of rule stemming from September 2, 1951 when it was formed by the late Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike.

It heralded a new era of social, economic and cultural revival neglected during the early days of the post independence era. On July 12, 1951, S.W.R.D. Bandaranaike made the historic sacrifice of resigning from the ruling party and joining the Opposition. Parliamentarians A. P. Jayasuriya, Jayaweera Kuruppu, George R. de Silva, D. A. Rajapaksa and D. S. Gunasekara followed suit and joined the Opposition with their Leader.

S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, D. S. Gunasekara, A. P. Jayasuriya, Jayaweera Kuruppu, H. Sri Nissanka, D. A. Rajapaksa, George R. De Silva, Mrs. Thamara Kumari Ilangaratne who were members of Parliament and Senator Barnes Ratwatte were among the first 44 signatories to the newspaper notice informing the formation of the new party.

At the first meeting, the following office bearers were elected- President S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, Joint Secretaries - Bernard Aluvihare, Badi-ud-din Mahmud and S. Nagaraja, Treasurer - George R. de Silva. H. Sri Nissanka, then M.P. for Kurunegala proposed that the new political party should be named Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP). The new party was able to form 51 branches. The infant SLFP had to face a General Election just six months after its birth due to the sudden demise of Prime Minister D. S. Senanayake. Although not anticipated, the SLFP was ready to face the challenge and fielded 48 candidates. S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike won the Attanagalle seat by a historic 32,544 votes at this election held on 24, 25, 28 and 30 May, 1952.

However, the party as a whole was able to win only nine seats, but became the focal point for Sangha, Guru, Govi, Veda and Kamkaru (Bhikkus, Teachers, Farmers, Physicians and Working Class) who propelled it to power under a united front in 1956. It was an unprecedented socio-economic revolution, still being felt in many sectors.

The biggest setback faced by the SLFP was the assassination of the people’s Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike on September 26, 1959. The revival of the party began with the advent of Sirimavo Bandaranaike on the political scene, at the request of the party membership, and she was elected chairperson of the party. The SLFP which contested the General Elections of July 1960 won 75 seats, of the 145 in Parliament.

Sirimavo Bandaranaike made history by being sworn in as the world’s first female Prime Minister on July 21, 1960.

The establishment of the People’s Bank, nationalization of Bank of Ceylon, setting up of the Insurance Corporation and nationalization of petroleum companies which were under foreign control were giant steps taken by her, towards socialism.

On June 5, 1968, the SLFP entered a mutual understanding with the Lanka Sama Samaja Party and the Communist Party to act as a United Front and the agreement was signed by Sirimavo Bandaranaike, Dr. Colvin R. de Silva and Dr. S. A. Wickramasinghe at the party headquarters. It paved the way for the massive victory of the United Front coalition in 1970, at which they won the majority of seats and Leader Sirimavo Bandaranaike took oaths for the second time as Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.

However, the UNP won an unprecedented landslide victory in the 1977 General Elections, securing 140 of the 168 seats, while the SLFP was reduced to eight seats. President J.R. Jayewardene’s Government stripped Sirimavo Bandaranaike of her civic rights for seven years and expelled her from Parliament.

As a result, the SLFP fielded Hector Kobbekaduwa at the 1982 Presidential Election, but he did not win. The SLFP suffered a further blow the same year, when a referendum to delay Parliamentary elections by six years was passed. In the early 1990s, the existing UNP Government was weakened through internal conflicts and fading public support. New SLFP leaders, prominently Mahinda Rajapaksa launched a successful Pada Yatra, Jana Gosha and white flag campaigns against the Government during this period.

After 17 years of UNP rule, the SLFP rose from its ashes at the 1994 Parliamentary and Presidential elections, and Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga was elected President as part of the SLFP led People’s Alliance coalition.

President Kumaratunga’s tenure marked the beginning of the SLFP’s shift from the socialism of Sirimavo Bandaranaike to a more centrist philosophy that sought to combine both, the free market and the SLFP’s traditional people friendly policies.

In 2005, Mahinda Rajapaksa was selected as the Presidential candidate for the SLFP led United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) and subsequently became President. Under President Rajapaksa, the SLFP shifted back to the left, towards a social democratic program termed Mahinda Chinthana.

The legacy of this period was the end of the long-drawn war in the North and the East and the reunification of Sri Lanka. This achievement boosted the popularity of the SLFP leading to victories in the Presidential and Parliamentary polls held in 2010.

Mahinda Rajapaksa lost the presidency to SLFP General Secretary Maithripala Sirisena at the 2015 Presidential Election. Sirisena ran against Rajapaksa with the support of the UNP and other smaller parties. In the August 2015 General Elections, the SLFP led UPFA coalition secured 95 seats while its rival the United National Front for Good Governance led by the UNP won 106 seats.

The UNP which won the elections invited the SLFP to form a National Government and an MoU was signed between the two parties. Nearly 45 SLFP MPs joined the National Government while the rest, including former President Mahinda Rajapaksa remained in the Joint Opposition with the SLFP facing an inevitable split.

UPFA General Secretary and Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Mahinda Amaraweera told the Sunday Observer that they expect the highest participation of party supporters at the 65th Convention of the SLFP, compared to all anniversary celebrations during the past 64 years.

The party has taken measures to celebrate the convention on a grand scale, and plans to awaken party supporters countrywide. The party has invited all SLFP MPs, including the SLFP MPs in the Joint Opposition. The Minister said, the party hierarchy would not accept the claim by the JO that they would decide on their attendance, based on the decisions of the Bala Mandalas.

Then, they cannot be accepted as true SLFP leaders and indicates a lack of leadership qualities. We still expect the participation of all JO members at the convention. The main focus of the convention is to strengthen the party and carry forward its vision and policies. As the UPFA General Secretary, I have invited all coalition partners of the SLFP led UPFA rainbow coalition to attend the 65th convention,” the Minister said.

UPFA Ratnapura District MP Ranjith de Zoysa told the Sunday Observer that all 38 SLFP MPs in the JO have decided not to attend the party convention.

“This decision was reached following the meetings with Bala Mandalas and all Bala Mandalas requested us not to attend the party convention”, he said.

Asked about the comment by the SLFP General Secretary Minister Duminda Dissanayake that taking a decision on attending the party convention following a Bala Mandala meeting cannot be approved of, he said, during the entire history of the SLFP all key political decisions were taken entirely based on the views of the Bala Mandalas, so they cannot go against that procedure.

Former President Mahinda Rajapaksa who was initially on the fence whether to attend the convention or not, has avoided it and travelled to Kuala Lumpur to take part in the Asia Pacific Parliamentarians’ Union Convention to be held from September 1 to 4.

According to SLFP Treasurer and Social Empowerment and Welfare Minister S.B Dissanayake all necessary arrangements have been made to conduct the 65th annual convention of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party at the Kurunegala Maligapitiya grounds on September 4 under the patronage of President Maithripala Sirisena. Minister Dissanayake requests all party members and supporters to participate in the convention to strengthen the party.

He said the SLFP supporters of each province are getting ready to extend their fullest support to the mass rally at the Maligapitiya grounds. The Minister expressed confidence that a large crowd from the North and East will also participate in the convention.