By Kassapa
The past year saw a tumultuous end with the Ditwah cyclone and also marked the first full year of the National Peoples’ Power (NPP) in government. With the dawn of 2026, it appears that both the ruling party as well as the ‘major’ opposition parties need to get their respective acts together as a decisive year looms ahead, both politically and economically.
The NPP arguably remains the most popular party, if the 2025 local government polls are a true reflection of public opinion. Still, the fact that it lost a whopping 2.3 million votes within a short span of six months since the general election suggests that its popularity is slipping fast. It is the inefficiency and the dubious past of the opposition and the personal appeal of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake that keep the government afloat.
There are many factors that hamper the government. Perhaps most importantly, the periodic gaffes committed by leading government personalities – Sunil Handunetti, Wasantha Samarasinghe, Nalin Hewage, Lakmali Hemachandra and T.B. Herath, to name a few- plus the actions of the irrepressible Asoka Ranwala, have cost the government dearly in terms of public support. The amazing fact is that the government appears to make no attempt to curb this. The damage continues unabated.
On a more political note, the government has also been found wanting on key election pledges. It may be argued that it is only one year old and has four more years to go, but, for instance, there is not even an indication that it is serious in its intentions to abolish the Executive Presidency, introduce a new Constitution and institute an Independent Prosecutor’s Office.
Even its attempt to ‘repeal’ the Prevention of Terrorism Act (PTA) appears as an effort to replace it with another Act with a different name, which is as draconian as the PTA. These are pledges that propelled the NPP into power. Abandoning them will mean the NPP would have proved that it is no different from the opposition parties it attempts to ridicule.
What the first year has also demonstrated in ample measure is that the government lacks competent people – both politicians and bureaucrats in key positions – to drive its programs forward. It has to then rely on Dissanayake and a few others to do all the hard work. This was evident in the aftermath of Cyclone Ditwah, too.
Where the government scores are in its commitment to eradicate corruption and punish the corrupt and the criminal. So far, no ruling party politician has been embroiled in a major corruption scandal, and the prosecution of several high-profile cases holds the promise of more convictions in the years to come. This too was a key campaign of the NPP and will go a long way in changing the country’s political culture.
The government’s management of the economy surprised many. It stuck to the reforms initiated under Ranil Wickremesinghe and reaped good results, the rewards for prudent fiscal management and minimizing corruption, delivering a budget that reflected a stabilizing economy. However, that joy was short-lived. Cyclone Ditwah wreaked havoc on an unprecedented scale. The repair bill is massive and requires even more cautious financial management in 2026.
The main opposition party in Parliament, the Samagi Jana Balavegaya (SJB) has been on an uncertain journey in 2025. The speculation that existed at the beginning of last year of the party reuniting or aligning with the United National Party (UNP) still remains just that; it has not been put to bed either way. SJB and Opposition Leader Sajith Premadasa are floundering from one ad-hoc decision to another, leaving both his party’s politicians and voters confused. The exodus that began with Harin Fernando now includes Rajitha Senaratne and Thalatha Atukorale. There are reports that others are waiting, biding their time.
Latest reports suggest that Premadasa himself has taken over reconciliation talks and that Wickremesinghe is willing to step down from the UNP leadership, but the SJB returning en masse to the UNP and living happily ever after appears to be a fairy tale and as distant a prospect as ever. The polarization of Wickremesinghe’s allies and Premadasa loyalists will mean that reconciliation ensures the political death of the former. This is where the most resistance will come from.
The UNP as a party needs to decide on life after the 78-year-old Wickremesinghe. He will be over eighty at the time of the next national elections. However, this very exercise is likely to trigger a succession battle, which could be the final nail in the coffin for the already moribund party.
On the other end of the opposition spectrum, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) is trying its best to stay relevant. However, it has not been able to shake off the fact that it is still a Rajapaksa family heirloom, and Namal Rajapaksa’s efforts to project himself as a national leader haven’t been impressive, what with a series of corruption allegations haunting him.
Most of the party’s seniors have either been sidelined or opted to take a backseat. The SLPP remains old wine in a new bottle, but the brand, the Rajapaksa style of politics with the same slogans of majoritarianism and fear mongering against the non-Sinhala Buddhist communities, remains the same. For most discerning voters, it still tastes bitter.
Much will depend on the outcome of several key corruption cases that have been filed and are due to be instituted against the younger Rajapaksa. Patriarch Mahinda is a spent force now, Chamal and Gotabaya have virtually retired, and Basil will not risk time in prison or losing his American citizenship to be active in local politics again. Thus, the SLPP will suffer the fate that person and family-centric parties are destined to suffer: in the absence of the single charismatic figure that led the party, it is destined for a natural death. Unfortunately, the Rajapaksas do not have a stable family line as strong as the Bandaranaikes, although that dynasty too is now in its dying days.
Ironically, then, the greatest strength of the NPP is the opposition while its greatest weakness is the incompetence, inexperience and immaturity of its own ranks. With provincial polls in the offing, the country should brace itself for another year of unbridled politicking.
-This article was originally featured on counterpoint.lk
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