The Mawbima Janatha Pakshaya (MJP; , ) is a

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular area's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific political ideology, ...

Sri Lanka Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...

, founded and led by media mogul, entrepreneur and lawyer

Dilith Jayaweera Dilith Susantha Jayaweera (born 18 September 1967) is a Sri Lankan businessman, entrepreneur, media mogul, lawyer and politician. He is the current Chairman of George Steuart Group of Companies, and the founder and CEO of TV Derana. He entered p ...

. The party is a constituent member of the Sarvajana Balaya, a political alliance formed in 2024.

History

The party headquarters was inaugurated on 11 October 2023, at Park Avenue in Colombo 08.

assumed leadership of the party, succeeding former MP

Hemakumara Nanayakkara Hemakumara Wickramathilaka Nanayakkara (born 12 July 1953) is a Sri Lankan politician who served as the 7th Governor of the Western Province of Sri Lanka, in office from April to December 2018. He has also been a Governor of the Southern Provin ...

, who assumed the position of senior leader of the party. Ranjan Seneviratne is the party's General Secretary. Dr. Sarath Amunugama who was appointed as chairman resigned a few days after the party was created. On 4 August 2024, MJP leader Dilith Jayaweera was announced as the presidential candidate of the Sarvajana Balaya in the

2024 Sri Lankan presidential election Presidential elections were held in Sri Lanka on 21 September 2024. Incumbent President of Sri Lanka, president Ranil Wickremesinghe ran for re-election as an Independent politician, independent candidate, making him the first sitting president ...

. The Sarvajana Balaya is a political alliance led by Jayaweera consisting of the Jathika Nidahas Peramuna, Pivithuru Hela Urumaya, Mawbima Janatha Pakshaya, the

Democratic Left Front The Democratic Left Front was formed as a non-sectarian and non-authoritarian anti-capitalist front in South Africa. It was formed from the ''Conference for a Democratic Left'' launched in 2008, at an event held in Johannesburg in January 2011. It ...

, the

Communist Party of Sri Lanka The Communist Party of Sri Lanka (; ) is a communist party in Sri Lanka. In the 2004 Sri Lankan parliamentary election, 2004 legislative election, the party was part of the United People's Freedom Alliance that won 45.6% of the popular vote and ...

and the Independent MP’s Forum. Jayaweera submitted nominations from the Communist Party to contest under the "star" symbol. Jayaweera finished in sixth place in the first round, winning 122,396 votes. The MJP contested in the 2024 parliamentary election as part of the Sarvajana Balaya, however the alliance failed to secure a single seat and only won one

national list The National List (, ''Reshima Mamlakhtit''), sometimes translated as the State List, was a political party in Israel. Despite being founded by David Ben-Gurion, one of the fathers of the Israeli left, the party is one of the ancestors of the mo ...

seat. The Sarvajana Balaya nominated Jayaweera as its national list MP.

Ideology

The MJP, according to Jayaweera, emphasises an entrepreneurial approach to address the nation's challenges. The party seeks to promote an entrepreneurial mindset, encouraging the youth to contribute to the nation's growth and attracting foreign income. Recognising historical challenges related to

majoritarian Majoritarianism is a political philosophy or ideology with an agenda asserting that a majority, whether based on a religion, language, social class, or other category of the population, is entitled to a certain degree of primacy in society, and ...

nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...

, the MJP aims to bridge divides between communities.

References

External links

MJP's official website
{{Authority control 2023 establishments in Sri Lanka Organizations established in 2023 Political parties established in 2023 Political parties in Sri Lanka Sinhalese nationalist parties