SLFP 59th anniversary when party at its strongest

The Sri Lanka Freedom Party(SLFP) would mark its 59th anniversary on September 2 with the main ceremony held at Temple Trees under the patronage of President Mahinda Rajapaksa, SLFP General Secretary Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena said yesterday.

The Minister said that he was happy to note that the SLFP was holding its 59th birthday at a time when the party was at its strongest and at a time when the country was governed by a SLFP led alliance.

The SLFP which was founded by late Prime Minister S.W.R.D Bandaranaike in 1951 with the support of leaders such as the late D.A.Rajapaksa and others was the strongest political party in the country today, he added.

Four leaders had given leadership to the SLFP since the party’s humble beginings, he observed.

Going down memory lane the Minister said that the SLFP in its inaugural election in 1952 had only secured 09 seats but had won the next election in 1956 and had formed a coalition Government under Premier S.W.R.D.Bandaranaike.

Since then the SLFP has never looked back and in 2005 when the incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa took the reigns of the party it had been able to rid the country of the scourge of terrorism and ushered an era of unity, peace and development. RS