Joint Opposition

The Joint Opposition (Sinhalese: ඒකාබද්ධ විපක්ෂය Ekabadda Vipakshaya, Tamil: கூட்டு எதிர்ப்பு Kuttu Etiruppu) is a political alliance formed by a left faction of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) alongside several of the major left-wing parties of Sri Lanka. It is currently the largest opposition group in the Sri Lankan Parliament. It was formed in the aftermath of the two major parties, the SLFP and the United National Party(UNP) forming a unity government, leading to a great degree of discontent amongst many SLFP members who 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 leftist mandate voters provided to the UPFA at the 2015 General Election which many loyal SLFP members felt was abandoned when the party joined the UNP-led government.^[1]

The organisation consists largely of Mahinda Rajapaksa loyalists and has been very critical of the current administration of President Maithripala Sirisena and Prime Minister Ranil Wickremasinghe. The alliance also prominently includes individuals outside the parliament such as D. E. W. Gunasekera and G. L. Peiris who were denied parliamentary seats due to President Sirisena's decision to appoint defeated loyalists into parliament through the National List.^[2] The current leader of the Joint Opposition is Mahajana Eksath Peramuna leader Dinesh Gunawardena.

Current Constituent Parties

• Sri Lanka Freedom Party (Opposition Section)
• Lanka Sama Samaja Party
• Communist Party of Sri Lanka
• Mahajana Eksath Peramuna
• Democratic Left Front
• National Freedom Front
• Pivithuru Hela Urumaya^[3]

References