New Democratic Front (Sri Lanka)

In the early 1990s, Lalith Athulathmudali was a prominent United National Party politician and dissident of president Ranasinghe Premadasa[http://archives.dailynews.lk/2013/01/09/fea04.asp Unsuccessful Impeachments and legal arguments] and a potential challenger to Premadasa for the UNP candidacy in the upcoming presidential elections. He was removed from the UNP and formed his own political party, the Democratic United National Front, alongside other UNP dissidents. Athulathmudali was controversially assassinated on 23 April 1993, which was widely believed to have been orchestrated by Premadasa himself. Two years after his assassination, a split in the Democratic United National Front would lead to his widow, Srimani Athulathmudali, establishing her own political party, the Democratic United National Lalith Front.

In 2009, the party was renamed as the New Democratic Front (NDF).

File:New Democratic Front logo.svg

In 2010, General Sarath Fonseka, a former Chief of Defence Staff and former Commander of the Sri Lanka Army, was the NDF candidate in the 2010 presidential elections.{{cite web|url=http://www.slelections.gov.lk/news.html|title=Presidential Elections - 2010|date=17 December 2009|publisher=Department of Elections of Sri Lanka|access-date=3 January 2010|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091209225523/http://www.slelections.gov.lk/news.html|archive-date=9 December 2009|url-status=dead}}{{cite news|url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/12/12/pol20.asp|title=New Democratic Front hands over deposit money|date=12 December 2009|work=Daily News|access-date=3 January 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110605033709/http://www.dailynews.lk/2009/12/12/pol20.asp|archive-date=5 June 2011|df=dmy-all}} He was contesting in the elections as the "joint opposition candidate",{{cite news|url=http://www.tamilnet.com/art.html?catid=13&artid=30925|title=Sarath Fonseka visits Jaffna seeking Tamils' votes|date=2 January 2010|publisher=TamilNet|access-date=3 January 2010}}{{cite news|url=http://www.thebottomline.lk/2009/12/16/news34.html|title=Record number of candidates|last=Amaranayake|first=Vindhya|publisher=The Bottom Line|access-date=3 January 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20091219162050/http://www.thebottomline.lk/2009/12/16/news34.html|archive-date=19 December 2009|df=dmy-all}} and was supported by the United National Party (UNP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the two main opposition parties, among others.{{cite news|url=http://www.dailynews.lk/2010/01/04/main_Editorial.asp|title=Defending Democracy|date=4 January 2010|work=Daily News|access-date=4 January 2010|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100113112311/http://www.dailynews.lk/2010/01/04/main_Editorial.asp|archive-date=13 January 2010|df=dmy-all}} Fonseka was one of the two main candidates of the election, along with then-incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa, however Fonseka lost the election to Rajapaksa by a significant margin.{{cite news|url=http://sundaytimes.lk/100103/News/nws_23.html|title=Main candidates ready with manifestos|date=3 January 2010|work=The Sunday Times|access-date=4 January 2010}}

In December 2014, former general-secretary of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) and presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena deposited his bond for the 2015 presidential elections, under the "symbol of the swan" of the National Democratic Front.{{cite news|url=http://newsfirst.lk/english/2014/12/maithreepala-sirisena-deposits-bond-symbol-sworn/65472|title=Maithripala Sirisena deposits bond to contest under swan symbol|date=2 December 2014|work=News First|access-date=2 December 2014}} Sirisena won the presidential election and was sworn in as the new President of Sri Lanka on 9 January 2015{{cite news|url=http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2015/01/09/maithripala-sirisena-sri-lanka-president_n_6443216.html|title=Maithripala Sirisena Sworn In As Sri Lanka's New President After Stunning Election Upset|date=9 January 2015|work=Huffington Post|access-date=9 January 2015}} after defeating incumbent president Mahinda Rajapaksa. Sirisena would also go on to replace Rajapaksa as the Chairman of the Sri Lanka Freedom Party.

In 2019, Sajith Premadasa, deputy leader of the UNP and son of former president Ranasinghe Premadasa, was the NDF candidate in the 2019 presidential election. Premadasa lost the election to Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) candidate Gotabaya Rajapaksa.{{cite web |date=21 October 2019 |title=November Lanka polls to test India's presence in southern Indian Ocean region |url=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/politics-and-nation/november-lanka-polls-to-test-indias-presence-in-southern-indian-ocean-region/articleshow/71680983.cms |access-date=25 October 2019 |work=Dipanjan Roy Chaudhury |publisher=The Economic Times}}

In September 2024, following then-incumbent president Ranil Wickremesinghe's loss in the presidential elections, the NDF was relaunched as a political alliance of MPs and parties who supported Wickremesinghe's campaign. The alliance changed its logo from a swan to a gas cylinder and contested in the 2024 parliamentary elections under the leadership of Wickremesinghe. Wickremesinghe, who did not run for parliament himself, endorsed the NDF and urged voters to vote for the party. The NDF ultimately won 6 seats and won the 3rd most votes nationally.{{cite web |last=Warawita |first=Pamodi |date=15 November 2024 |title=Sri Lankan Leader's Leftist Coalition Wins Elections |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/15/world/asia/sri-lanka-election.html |url-status= |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20241120012921/https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/15/world/asia/sri-lanka-election.html |archive-date=20 November 2024 |accessdate=20 November 2024 |work=The New York Times}}

The NDF currently consists of the following parties:{{Cite web |last=Ferdinando |first=Shamindra |date=14 October 2024 |title=Now, UNP-SLPP alliance changes 'Swan' to 'Gas Cylinder' symbol |url=https://island.lk/now-unp-slpp-alliance-changes-swan-to-gas-cylinder-symbol/ |archive-date= |website=The Island}}{{Cite web |last=Pathiraja |first=Jude Denzil |title=පොදුජන එක්සත් නිදහස් පෙරමුණ බිහි වෙයි |url=https://divaina.lk/%E0%B6%B4%E0%B7%9C%E0%B6%AF%E0%B7%94%E0%B6%A2%E0%B6%B1-%E0%B6%91%E0%B6%9A%E0%B7%8A%E0%B7%83%E0%B6%AD%E0%B7%8A-%E0%B6%B1%E0%B7%92%E0%B6%AF%E0%B7%84%E0%B7%83%E0%B7%8A-%E0%B6%B4%E0%B7%99%E0%B6%BB/ |access-date=2025-05-18 |website=Divaina |language=si}}

• United National Party
• Sri Lanka Freedom Party
• Breakaway members of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna
• Ceylon Workers' Congress
• Eelam People's Democratic Party
• Mahajana Eksath Peramuna
• National Congress
• National Unity Alliance
• New Lanka Freedom Party
• Sri Lanka Mahajana Pakshaya
• Tamil Makkal Viduthalai Pulikal

{{notelist}}

{{reflist|30em}}

{{Sri Lankan political parties}}

Category:1995 establishments in Sri Lanka

Category:Political parties established in 1995

Category:Political parties in Sri Lanka

Category:United National Front (Sri Lanka)