General_Secretary_of_the_Samagi_Jana_Balawegaya
Samagi Jana Balawegaya
Political party in Sri Lanka
The Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB; Sinhala: සමගි ජනබලවේගය, romanized: Samagi Janabalavēgaya, Tamil: ஐக்கிய மக்கள் சக்தி, romanized: Aikkiya Makkaḷ Cakti, 'United People's Power') is a political alliance[3][4] led by Leader of the Opposition Sajith Premadasa.[5][6][7] It is the largest opposition party in the Parliament of Sri Lanka since 2020.
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The alliance was formed with the approval of the working committee of the United National Party (UNP)[8] to contest in the 2020 Sri Lankan parliamentary election. On 11 February 2020, the election commission of Sri Lanka announced that they had accepted the party as a recognised political party in Sri Lanka. Ranjith Madduma Bandara was named as the general secretary of the party.[9] Other minor political parties like the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU), Sri Lanka Muslim Congress (SLMC) and the Tamil Progressive Alliance (TPA) joined the new alliance on 12 February 2020.[10]
The alliance won 54 seats and became the main opposition just six months after its formation.[11] While the alliance traces its political views to the liberal-conservative principles of the UNP, some members of the Sri Lankan media have argued that the SJB has gradually moved to the progressive and democratic political centre over time, and even espouses several social democratic (centre-left) ideals.[12][13]