Former President and United National Party (UNP) Leader Ranil Wickremesinghe says an alliance between the UNP and Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB) alone will not guarantee an election victory, stressing the need to attract approximately eight million Gen Z and Millennial voters ahead of the next election.
Wickremesinghe said many younger voters have not yet decided which political party to support and that winning their confidence would be crucial for future electoral success.
“Some believe that if the UNP and SJB unite, we will win. That is not the case,” he said.
The former President said Sri Lanka’s political landscape has changed significantly and that traditional political strategies would no longer be sufficient to secure election victories.
He stressed that the UNP, which has a history spanning 65 years, must develop a new political identity to appeal to younger generations.
Wickremesinghe said Gen Z and Millennial voters represent a significant section of the electorate, with approximately eight million people belonging to these groups, according to his estimate.
He noted that many younger voters had become disillusioned with traditional politics, particularly following Sri Lanka’s economic collapse in 2022.
Referring to youth-led political movements in Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Nepal and Serbia, Wickremesinghe said younger generations were increasingly influencing political developments across the world.
He said the UNP had already begun working with two groups, Millennium UNP and Gen Z UNP, as part of efforts to transform the party and attract younger supporters.
According to Wickremesinghe, these groups are exploring new methods of political organisation, moving away from the traditional system of establishing party branches and instead focusing initially on connecting with people through digital platforms.
He said political parties could no longer depend solely on their traditional voter bases or alliances to secure electoral victories.
Wickremesinghe warned that without attracting younger voters, political parties would struggle to move forward, regardless of whether they formed alliances.
He called for a new approach to rebuilding the UNP’s political identity, placing Gen Z and Millennial voters at the centre of its future strategy. (Newswire)