What does the UNP stand for?

The United National Party, the oldest, active political party in the country, held a special convention over the weekend under the patronage of the party leader, President Ranil Wickremesinghe.

Wickremesinghe highlighted his vision of transforming Sri Lanka into a ‘Smart Nation’ by the year 2048, presumably coinciding with the centenary of independence.

The party, which has faced unprecedented electoral defeats in recent years under the leadership of Wickremesinghe, introduced some reforms that would allow the creation of online party organisations. A digitised platform is to be introduced that would allow members to convey their proposals and ideas to the General Secretary. This is envisioned to transform the UNP into Sri Lanka’s ‘first smart political party.’ According to President Wickremesinghe, in six months, the party would achieve its smart digital political party status and face democratic elections. President Wickremesinghe said he hoped to convert the UNP’s headquarters into a digital centre soon. He said that the UNP is a party that looks to the future.

President Wickremesinghe said that in accordance with the Constitution, the Presidential Election is scheduled for next year, followed by the Parliamentary Election and the Provincial Council Election in early 2025.

Whether a digital platform is what is going to change the electoral fortunes of the UNP; if it does have a chance to resonate with the electorate which has rejected it repeatedly then it should offer an alternative vision for the country. That is exactly what is lacking in the UNP. At least in the past the electorate had some idea of what the UNP stood for. It was the competitive, market economy driven centre right party in comparison to the alternatives which usually based their economic policies on redistribution, large government bureaucracy, and regulation. On the ethno-nationalistic spectrum, the UNP had traditionally attracted minorities and been the lesser of the jingoistic mainstream parties.

In today’s political milieu it is not clear where the UNP stands or what it represents. Even if the electorate may associate the party with its above values, the leadership today has aligned itself with its diametrically opposed political disposition. President Wickremesinghe is holding on to power not due to the single seat in parliament his party possesses but due to the backing of the UNP’s supposed nemesis the SLPP, led by the Rajapaksas.

The leaders that the UNP are presenting also do not inspire any confidence in the electorate. These are the same people who had crashed the administration in 2015-2019 through corruption and mismanagement. The very individuals who led the party into political oblivion with an island-wide whitewash, failing to win a single seat, are supposed to usher in the new era for this party? 

The only positive news out of the UNP’s conventions is that President Wickremesinghe has clearly stated that the presidential elections are due next year. Having postponed holding of local government elections which were due this year, the President had created some anxiety over his desire to hold elections next year. As a leader who does not have a popular mandate, it would be playing with fire to even think of postponing presidential elections.

If the UNP is to face the coming elections with a degree of confidence it needs to demonstrate to the electorate that it is a viable political entity to govern the country.