THE MALIMAWA GOVERNMENT Part 2
Posted on May 22nd, 2026
KAMALIKA PIERIS
Sri Lanka elected a brand-new political party, Jathika Jana Balavegaya, (Malimawa) to power at the 2025 general election and treated it to a landslide win. There was a sharp swing away from known politicians to the totally unknown. It was a huge protest vote against the mainstream parties. Voters were fed up and wanted to take a gamble. They hoped the new government will deliver.
Voters were attracted to this new Party because of its lovely promises, which the gullible section of the electorate readily fell for. NPP promised to deliver everything the way the voters wanted. They said that they would bring down prices, make essential goods readily available and anything else the voters wanted to hear. For instance, they promised a 30 percent decrease in electricity tariffs as soon as they came to power.
NPP presented itself as a clean, pure, political party engaged in a high cause. Malimawa said We have undertaken a very serious mission, not merely to run a government, but to transform society as outlined in our manifesto, A thriving nation, a beautiful life.” These are not just words. They carry a profound meaning.
Our vision is for economic development that involves the entire population, ensuring that the benefits of growth are shared fairly, not concentrated in the hands of a few. We aspire to a society where everyone can live happily, children can enjoy their childhood and receive a good education, and people can lead healthy lives with fewer illnesses. A society free from communal or racial conflict, where fairness and justice are guaranteed to all, concluded Malimawa.
NPP’s election strategy of blaming all economic problems on corruption worked politically but created dangerously unrealistic expectations, said analysts. NPP suggested that complex economic problems had simple solutions, with corruption as the cause, not poor management. They promised that everything would be perfect” once corruption ended.
The public believed this and voted. The people have voted for a complete overhaul of the political order in Sri Lanka, hoping to usher in a corruption free administration based on a level playing field, transparency and meritocracy, said analysts.
The country could look forward to a clean slate of new parliamentarians, said one commentator. The NPP will assuredly field a slate of new candidates who have never been in parliament. Hopefully, their list will include candidates with a range of educational qualifications and life experiences, and will scrupulously exclude family members and individuals with a criminal record, he concluded.
The level of expectation of the voters was extremely high. With a commanding Parliamentary majority and control of Local Councils, expectations were immense.
Malimawa started well. They created a small Cabinet which was not packed with family members. The MPs included many graduates. They had no experience of government or politics, but had the gift of the gab and heaps of confidence.
NPP had the most graduates in Parliament. Here are the figures.Sixteen of the 20 doctors were NPP. Of the 14 arts graduates, 13 were NPP. Of the 20 science graduates 15 were NPP. 16 out of the 27 accountants and lawyers were from NPP. There was one MP with a dental degree and one MP with a veterinary degree. Both were NPP. There were 11 MPs with PhDs, eight were from NPP.
It soon became clear that Malimawa had no intention of keeping its promises. The disappointed electorate condemned the government. They called it aseemitha boru kiyapu, vada karanna bari, vada bari anduwak”. Its leaders were labelled conceited. NPP’s claim to political purity and ethical high ground was rejected.
Discerning voters had known all along, that the NPP was making promises they could not keep. NPP gave the impression that the country’s political and economic issues had swift, straightforward solutions, hiding the fact that they were actually very complex issues which could not be solved easily. This audience had pointed out that past governments had some achievements and were not the total failures that the NPP said they were. This group did not vote for the NPP.
Critics observed that NPP seemed to have no economic vision at all. The NPP manifesto, ‘For a beautiful life’, sets out in 30 pages what the NPP will do, observed Lalith de Mel. They will carry out something like 1,800 programs, to create the beautiful life they have promised. But there is something missing in the manifesto. There is no overall economic vision. Further, the document has been written by people who have never executed any project in their lives. Executing a project is a long and difficult process.
The angry, disappointed electorate got another chance of showing their distress when the local government elections were held in May 2026. The public’s simmering frustration showed in the election results. Malimawa got just 4,503,930 votes.
This showed that the government’s popularity had nose dived just six months after its sweeping win in the parliamentary election. The approval rating also dropped significantly. Further, the election results showed that if SJB and the UNP had got together, they would have had the majority in many councils.
Malimawa had worked hard to win this election. The President himself spearheaded the election effort, leading from the front, just as he did during the presidential and parliamentary races.
Malimawa did emerge as the overall winner in the LG polls, but there was a decline in its total vote. It found itself precariously positioned in a number of Municipal Councils, where it won razor-thin majorities. Also, it lost dozens of hung councils to the Opposition although it secured pluralities in them.
NPP refused to accept defeat. There is a hugely feigned surprise that the NPP vote dropped to 43.76% in the local government election, said Rajan Phillips. It was argued that a clear majority of voters still chose to back the NPP, as shown by the number of councils the NPP won and the members it had elected.
President Dissanayake insisted that the NPP would form the administration of every single council it won. He also publicly scoffed at claims that the result of the election showed his party had suffered a drastic drop in popularity within six months and rattled off a series of victories the party had achieved at the polls, reported Sunday Times.
We haven’t lost a single Pradeshiya Sabha in the Southern Province. Except for three Pradeshiya Sabhas in the Kalutara District, we have won every other Pradeshiya Sabha in the Western Province. In the Sabaragamuwa Province, we have won all Pradeshiya Sabhas in the Kegalle and Ratnapura districts. In the Wayamba (North-Western) Province, we have won everywhere except in Kalpitiya, though there too, the numbers are tied 10:10.
In Nuwara Eliya, we have won 10 out of 12, with numbers being tied in the other two. We won all local authorities in the North-Central Province. The NPP won the largest number of votes in the Vanni District, made up of Mullaitivu, Mannar and Vavuniya. We have the highest number of votes in Ampara and Trincomalee districts, while our vote in Batticaloa is the same percentage we received during the parliamentary election. We came second in the Kilinochchi and Jaffna districts, and we had 93 members elected in Jaffna. We got 10 members elected in the Jaffna Municipal Council. Where have we lost?” asked President Dissanayake.
Malimawa supporters agreed with the President. While the NPP has underperformed, the results are not indicative of a wholesale rejection or widespread disillusionment, Malimawa said. They gave explanations for the defeat, which are most entertaining and worth recording.
One explanation is that there was voter fatigue. This was the third election in nine months. NPP supporters did not see this election as worth their time. They skipped the election as they thought that NPP would win the local government election easily. Actually, the voter turnout did not fall greatly. It fell from 69% in the General election to 62% in the LG election.
Results of a local council election cannot be compared to presidential and parliamentary elections, another group said. At a local government election people are not thinking of political parties. They are simply picking the best person to fix potholes and manage garbage collection. They vote for known people in the area and take into account caste ties and petty village rivalries (continued)
REFERENCES
K.K.S Perera . https://www.dailynews.lk/2025/09/25/featured/863506/akds-first-year-politics-of-transformation/#google_vignette
Lalith de Mel.18.5.25 https://island.lk/what-will-the-npp-do-in-the-future/
Nirmal devasiri, Polity 2025 vol 13 issue 1
Pradeep Peiris Polity 2025 vol 13 issue 1
Rajan philips https://island.lk/president-anura-kumara-dissanayakes-historic-win-and-his-promising-start/
Rathidra Kuruwita. https://www.sundayobserver.lk/2025/05/11/opinion/51902/local-govt-elections-a-wakeup-call-for-all-parties/
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https://island.lk/the-npp-keeps-winning-india-and-pakistan-keep-fighting/11.5.25 rajan philips