United National Party

The United National Party (UNP, Sinhalese: ?????? ????? ????? (pronounced Eksath Jathika Pakshaya), Tamil: ஐக்கிய தேசியக் கட்சி) is a political party in Sri Lanka. At the last legislative elections, held on 2 April 2004, the party was the leading member of the United National Front that won 37.8% of the popular vote and 82 out of 225 seats.

Related Topics:
Sinhalese - Tamil - Political party - Sri Lanka - Legislative - Elections - 2 April - 2004 - United National Front

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It is currently the largest party in Sri Lanka and the main opposition party (the coalition formed by the current UPFA government and Marxist JVP ended prematurely, making the UNP the largest single party in the Sri Lankan parliament ). The Front had held a majority from December 2001 until April 2004, when it had 109 seats, with Ranil Wickremesinghe of the UNP as prime minister. The party lost 27 seats in the 2004 elections. The UNP had previously been the majority party from 1947 to 1956, from 1966 to 1970 and from 1977 to 1994. In total, the UNP governed Sri Lanka (formerly known as Ceylon) for 33 of 57 years of its independent history. The UNP also had control of the presidency from 1978 to 1994.

Related Topics:
December - 2001 - April - Ranil Wickremesinghe - Prime minister - 1947 - 1956 - 1966 - 1970 - 1977 - 1994 - Presidency - 1978

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The UNP is generally seen as more conservative than the Sri Lanka Freedom Party, favoring a more market-orientated economy.

Related Topics:
Conservative - Sri Lanka Freedom Party

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