A group of Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) electoral organisers, along with ten senior Members of Parliament, have reportedly made a strong personal appeal to party leader Sajith Premadasa, demanding the immediate replacement of long-serving party officials and leaders who have been with the party since its inception, Lankadeepa reported.
According to Lankadeepa, the demand follows the SJB’s consecutive defeats in six major elections, including two presidential polls, three parliamentary elections, and a local government election. The organisers argue that continuing to blame electoral organisers alone for these losses is unfair, and insist that a broader restructuring is urgently needed if the party is to avoid further defeat in upcoming elections.
They have urged that officials and leaders responsible for strategy and decision-making since the party’s founding be replaced with new, dynamic individuals capable of attracting public support. The organisers further recommended that fresh, creative, and youth-oriented representatives be appointed to key leadership positions.
The meeting reportedly took place as party leadership was preparing to remove certain electoral organisers deemed responsible for past electoral failures. The organisers countered by stating that had the party secured victory in the last presidential election, it would have been in a stronger position to win a significantly larger number of seats at the parliamentary election.
They also criticised the decision to contest the 2019 presidential election without forming a broader alliance, pointing out that such a coalition—including the United National Party (UNP)—could have increased the chances of a sweeping victory. Moreover, they argued that had Sajith Premadasa accepted the offer to take over national leadership as Opposition Leader following Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s resignation, it would have boosted his public image, much like how Ranil Wickremesinghe gained political traction by stepping into leadership and later securing over 2 million votes in the most recent presidential election.
Some organisers also claimed that Sajith was dissuaded from accepting national leadership during the 2022 crisis by a group of ‘economic experts’ within the party, further weakening the SJB’s momentum.
Concluding their remarks, the organisers stressed that unless the party leadership initiates immediate changes—replacing long-standing figures with young and innovative individuals—the SJB risks continuing down a path of electoral failure. (Courtesy: Lankadeepa)
