Family, inheritance and identity: Can UNP and SJB reconcile?

THE upcoming United National Party (UNP) annual convention this Saturday (6 September 2025) will be unlike any other in its long history. It will be the first major event organised by an Opposition party since Ranil Wickremesinghe’s arrest and release, and the UNP is expected to use the heightened public and media attention to its advantage.

- By Nevanka de Silva Jayatilleke

Wickremesinghe’s planned “special announcement” alone would give the convention weight, but this year’s meeting is significant for more than optics and symbolism. For the first time in years, circumstances appear to have created the space for dialogue between the UNP and the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB). The fact that Wickremesinghe has invited former presidents Mahinda Rajapaksa and Maithripala Sirisena further underlines the attempt to shape this gathering not only as a party event, but as a forum for broader Opposition realignment — and potential alliance building.

Opening the door toreconciliation

The significance of the convention can be framed in two dimensions. First, it raises the question of whether this moment will mark the beginning of a serious reconciliation between the UNP and SJB. Second, it will test whether the event can serve as a platform for constructing a broader Opposition front.

On the latter point, the Opposition remains deeply fragmented. The Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP), as indicated through General Secretary Sagara Kariyawasam, has made clear it is not prepared to enter into a formal alliance, though it has hinted at supporting joint Opposition efforts against the Government. The SJB, despite being the dominant parliamentary Opposition party over the past four elections, has evolved to be known as a distinct political organisation rather than a mere offshoot of the UNP. Its leaders have constructed a separate social democratic identity, claimed an independent electoral base, and articulated themselves as the face of Opposition politics. The Opposition space in Sri Lanka today is multipolar to a degree never seen before, and the UNP convention takes place against that complex backdrop.