The General Secretary of the SLFP and the General Secretary of the UNP exchanged loyalties. The opposition’s common candidate, Maithripala Sirisena, offered flowers at the Dalada Maligawa and pledged to abolish the Executive Presidency within 100 days of being elected. The first rally was held on December 9, 2014, in Kandy.

Sirisena boastfully claimed that after handing over nominations, Mahinda Rajapaksa attempted to shake his hand, but he did not want to stain his clean hands by taking it. Instead, he greeted him with his hands together in true Sinhala style. However, three years later, he unconstitutionally sacked Ranil as PM and eagerly shook both hands of Rajapaksa after appointing him as Prime Minister, a move that was later reversed by the Supreme Court.

The General Secretary of the SLFP, and the then Health Minister of Mahinda Rajapaksa government, who carried the Buddha relic casket invoking blessings on President Rajapaksa on his birthday, the day before the proclamation of the Presidential Election, hour later announced that he would contest the poll as the common candidate against Rajapaksa. Sirisena pledged equality, democracy and people-friendly governance, once he is elected to office.

Dummy candidates

Maithripala Sirisena, and Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga and UNP decided on the New Democratic Front (NDF) with Swan (or Hansaya) as the symbol. A group of lawyers including Tilak Marapana PC, Ronald Perera PC, J.C. Weliamuna, were also in favour of this move though they advised that a few “dummy candidates” too would have to be fielded. At the signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) at the Vihara Maha Devi Park open air theatre, representatives of parties backing Maithri’s candidacy were present–addressing the gathering, he said, “At the moment we are facing several crises. I thank you for having selected me as the leader of this effort to overcome these problems and make this country an example of good democracy. I will not breach the trust you have kept in me.I give you my word that I will do exactly as I have sworn to do. I will work with the people’s blessings to achieve what the people desire: a just, democratic and people-friendly governance, and will work in the future to strengthen the faith people have in us, and to increase the blessings they bestow on us. I state that I will work to safeguard all those who have placed their confidence in me.”

The United National Party’s well-attended convention unanimously sanctioned the candidature of Sirisena. The outcome of the January 8, 2015, polls represented a critical juncture. A victory for Rajapaksa would certainly have been seen as a ratification of his policies, both locally and internationally, particularly amongst ongoing inquiries by the UNHRC into alleged human rights violations. Conversely, a win for Sirisena would have signaled the possible abolishing the Executive Presidency and ushering in a new administration. For Sri Lankan voters, it was a crucial moment with significant implications regardless of the outcome.

Speaking further Maithri said, “You may recall that we had a number of ‘alliances’ and ‘fronts’ in the past in this country. Those political collaborations were formed by political Parties in order to overcome crises the country was confronting, while keeping intact the identity of each party,”he continued, “We have joined forces in the name of freedom and democracy, to offer everlasting solutions to poverty, to make government service unbiased by establishing law and order. We are going to form a multi-party government with members of all parties in Parliament.”

Sirisena publicly declared that honours including his rank as a General will be conferred on Sarath Fonseka, acknowledging his leadership in the victory. At the Vihara Maha Devi Park, Sirisena dedicated much of his time to signing agreements with various political parties. Sirisena signed several key agreements to consolidate support. One notable agreement, termed the “Common People’s Agenda for Just, Democratic, and People-Friendly Governance,” was endorsed by prominent figures including Ven. Maduluwawe Sobitha Thera, leader of the National Movement for Justice and Equality, Sarath Fonseka, Mano Ganesan (Democratic People’s Front), and representatives from 32 civil society organisations. Additionally, Sirisena entered into a separate agreement with Venerable Omalpe Sobitha Thera of the JHU. These actions mirrored the current trend of forming numerous alliances by various disgruntled politicians.

Parliamentary form

Immediate tasks promised by Sirisena included the replacement of the abolished Executive Presidential system by a Parliamentary form. The current preferential voting system to be abolished, ensuring the just representation of all communities and political opinions, combining elements of the first-past-the-post system with proportional representation, thereby guaranteeing that every electorate has its own Member of Parliament.

In February, 2015, a month after Maithri’s victory, former Sri Lankan Health Minister and UNP’s General Secretary Tissa Attanayake was arrested for allegedly producing a forged document that claimed President Maithripala Sirisena and the then Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe agreed to a secret pact giving more powers to Tamils in the country. Attanayake was accused of producing forged documents during the 2015 Presidential Election campaign in support of Rajapaksa. He had displayed documents with the signatures of Sirisena and Wickremesinghe claiming that there was a secret agreement between Common candidate Sirisena and Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and Tamil National Alliance leader R. Sampanthan during the 2015 Presidential Elections.

Forged document

On September 9, the Attorney General filed an indictment against Tissa Attanayake on three counts related to the forged document. Attanayake was summoned by the Colombo High Court to appear in Courts on October 19, 2015, regarding the preparation of a forged document. He was charged under the Presidential Elections Act for allegedly displaying the forged document to the media, thereby affecting the campaign of the then candidate Maithripala Sirisena. Additionally, he faced charges for the preparation of a forged document under Section 454 of the Penal Code. Moreover, he was charged for alleged propagation of racial and religious hatred under the ICCPR Act No 56 of 2007.

In March 2019, the case was postponed until April 4 as parties to the case negotiated for an amicable settlement. On April 4th, the court was informed that if the accused was willing to apologize for his actions, both Wickremesinghe and Sirisena were willing to forgive him. On April 24th a President’s Counsel representing Attanayake, assured the Court that the defendant will not produce such documents hereafter and that his client apologizes for publicizing of the document. DSG, Dileepa Peiris stated that responsible people should understand the seriousness of the statements they make to media.

The attorneys representing the President and the Prime Minister did not raise objections. Accordingly, the High Court Judge ordered the release of the defendant from the charges.

The man who forged the signatures of Maithripala Sirisena and Ranil Wickremesinghe was pardoned by both leaders, thereby concluding one of the biggest political forgery cases in island’s history. This pardon allowed the accused to later become the National Organizer of the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB).