New Democratic Front (Sri Lanka)

The National Democratic Front (NDF) is a political party in Sri Lanka. The party was founded in 1995 as Democratic United National Lalith Front. In 2009, it was renamed as New Democratic Front.

National Democratic Front
ජාතික ප්‍රජාතන්ත්‍රවාදී පෙරමුණ
AbbreviationNDF
ChairpersonUditha Devasurendra
SecretaryShyamila Perera
FounderSrimani Athulathmudali
Founded1995
Split fromDemocratic United National Front
Headquarters9/6 Jayanthi Mawatha, Pelawatte, Battaramulla
IdeologyLiberalism
Political positionCentre to Centre-right
Colors   Yellow & green
Slogan"Look for What is Right - Not Who is Right"
Election symbol
Swan
Website
www.ndf.lk

History edit

Presidential election—2010 edit

General Sarath Fonseka, a former Chief of Defence Staff and commander of the Sri Lanka Army, was the party's candidate for the 2010 presidential Elections.[1][2] He was contesting in the elections as the "joint opposition candidate",[3][4] and was supported by the United National Party (UNP) and the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the two principal opposition parties, among others.[5] He was therefore one of the two main candidates for the election, along with then current President Mahinda Rajapaksa.[6]

Presidential election—2015 edit

In December 2014 presidential candidate Maithripala Sirisena deposited his bond for the 2015 presidential Elections, under the "symbol of the swan" of the National Democratic Front.[7] Sirisena won the presidential election on 8 January, and was sworn in as the new President of Sri Lanka on 9 January 2015[8] after defeating the incumbent president Mahinda Rajapaksa. In 2018 Sirisena unsuccessfully tried to dissolve the parliament composed mostly of the Front's supporters and appointed Mahinda Rajapaksa as prime minister.

Presidential Election—2019 edit

Sajith Premadasa was the Front's candidate for the 2019 presidential elections.

 

Electoral history edit

Presidential edit

Election year Candidate Votes % Result
2010 Sarath Fonseka 4,173,185 40.15% Lost
2015 Maithripala Sirisena 6,217,162 51.28% Won
2019 Sajith Premadasa 5,564,239 41.99% Lost

References edit

  1. ^ "Presidential Elections - 2010". Department of Elections of Sri Lanka. 17 December 2009. Archived from the original on 9 December 2009. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
  2. ^ "New Democratic Front hands over deposit money". Daily News. 12 December 2009. Archived from the original on 5 June 2011. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
  3. ^ "Sarath Fonseka visits Jaffna seeking Tamils' votes". TamilNet. 2 January 2010. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
  4. ^ Amaranayake, Vindhya. "Record number of candidates". The Bottom Line. Archived from the original on 19 December 2009. Retrieved 3 January 2010.
  5. ^ "Defending Democracy". Daily News. 4 January 2010. Archived from the original on 13 January 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  6. ^ "Main candidates ready with manifestos". The Sunday Times. 3 January 2010. Retrieved 4 January 2010.
  7. ^ "Maithripala Sirisena deposits bond to contest under swan symbol". News First. 2 December 2014. Retrieved 2 December 2014.
  8. ^ "Maithripala Sirisena Sworn In As Sri Lanka's New President After Stunning Election Upset". Huffington Post. 9 January 2015. Retrieved 9 January 2015.