Democracy in Sri Lanka had seemed doomed as the presidencies of
J.R. Jayewardene and
Ranasinghe Premadasa arbitrarily banned opposition parties, severely muzzled the media, and routinely used death squads, torture, and kidnappings in the two civil conflicts against the
LTTE and
JVP. The UNP had simply cancelled the 1983 parliamentary elections; its control of the media led it to victory in the
1988 and
1989 elections. The population was increasingly tired of war and repression, worn out with
jingoistic Sinhalese nationalism, and wanted a return to freedom, peace, and democracy.
Chandrika Kumaratunga, leader of the
Sri Lanka Freedom Party, formed a coalition with small leftist parties called the
People's Alliance. This was in some ways a revival of her
mother's
coalition from the 1970s, but this time campaigning for rapprochement with the
Tamils rather than their marginalization. ==Results==