The United National Party has formally declined an invitation from the Samagi Jana Balawegaya to join its May Day rally on May 1, citing a standing party decision not to engage in political activity when the date coincides with a Poya Day.
UNP General Secretary Thalatha Atukorale conveyed the response in a letter dated April 27 to SJB General Secretary Ranjith Madduma Bandara. She said the UNP had previously resolved to dedicate Poya Days to religious observance rather than political programmes, and recalled that the late President Ranasinghe Premadasa, while serving as Prime Minister, had emphasised the impropriety of holding May Day political activities on a Poya Day.
Accordingly, the UNP would not be able to participate in any May Day rally organised by the SJB or any other political party this year, the letter said. May 1, 2026 falls on Vesak Full Moon Poya Day.
Atukorale added that despite the May Day decision, the UNP remained prepared to work together with the SJB on future political matters.
The SJB had extended the invitation last week, with senior MP S.M. Marikkar pitching its Maligawatta Stadium rally as the “biggest” opposition gathering of the year and an opportunity for a UNP–SJB alignment ahead of provincial council elections. The UNP had earlier confirmed it would not hold its own May Day rally this year for the same Poya Day reason.
Sources: Ada Derana, NewsFirst, Newswire.
