Ranil’s offer

Reports that United National Party (UNP) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe is prepared to step down from party leadership, but only in the event of an agreement with the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), should be treated with both scepticism and historical clarity. For over two decades, Wickremesinghe has been the single most significant obstacle to reform within the UNP, presiding over its steady decline while jealously guarding his position at the top.

The irony is difficult to miss. A man who repeatedly proclaims his devotion to parliamentary democracy has never applied one of its most basic principles of a leader taking responsibility for defeat and stepping aside. Election after election, rejection after rejection, Wickremesinghe clung to leadership as the once-mighty UNP was reduced to a shadow of its former self. The nadir came in 2020, when the party was wiped out electorally and reduced to a single seat in Parliament—secured not through popular mandate, but through the National List, which Wickremesinghe promptly claimed.

This personalisation of power hollowed out the party. Ranil has been accused of stifling internal democracy, marginalising younger leaders and eroding public confidence in the UNP. The party did not merely lose elections, it lost relevance. That Wickremesinghe continued as leader even after engineering his ascent to the presidency through alliances with the Rajapaksas, in exchange for political protection for the latter’s alleged crimes, only deepened public cynicism. His Presidency did not restore the UNP’s standing, nor did it generate a fresh mandate for his leadership. Yet, even after a resounding defeat at the most recent Presidential election, he remains firmly in control of the party apparatus.

The UNP that Wickremesinghe now proposes to hand over, after a merger with the SJB, is in practical terms, a non-entity in Sri Lankan politics. It has no electoral base, no organisational momentum, and no authority. And yet, paradoxically, the broader UNP–SJB political space retains potential.

With a left-leaning administration currently in power, and a corruption-riddled Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP) waiting in the wings for a possible return, Sri Lanka desperately needs a principled, democratic, centre-right alternative. A credible UNP–SJB disposition could fill that niche, but only if it represents a genuine break from the past.

That break cannot be symbolic or conditional. Ranil Wickremesinghe must go and stay away from active politics. But the problem does not end with him. The culture of leader-for-life politics has infected the SJB as well. Sajith Premadasa, despite losing a multitude of national elections, continues to hold on to party leadership, replicating the very tradition of political stagnation he once criticised within the UNP.

If there is to be any chance of revival, all these individuals must accept the same standards they once demanded of others. Leadership is not a personal entitlement, but a temporary responsibility granted by members and the electorate. Renewal requires humility, accountability, and the courage to step aside.

A new generation of leaders, untainted by repeated failure, internal sabotage, and transactional politics, must be allowed to emerge. Only then can this political space present a compelling case to the electorate, function as a genuine opposition, and offer a credible alternative to the current administration. The legacy of Wickremesinghe must also be a cautionary tale for those who wish to cling on to political power at all costs.