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Amid the backdrop of the Vesak Full Moon Poya Day coinciding with International Workers’ Day in 2026, several political parties have taken different decisions about whether to hold May Day celebrations. In this context, a social media post claiming that the United National Party and the Samagi Jana Balawegaya are planning to hold a joint May Day rally has been circulating online. We carried out a fact check regarding this claim.
Social Media Posts :
A social media post claiming, “A massive joint May Day rally by the SJB and the UNP, the Green force returns to the forefront of Sri Lanka’s political legacy!” was circulating widely online.
Similar social media posts regarding this continued to circulate in this manner.
Below is the fact check we conducted to verify the accuracy of this claim.
Explainer :
We first examined the decisions taken by different political parties regarding May Day celebrations. The National People’s Power has decided to limit its May Day rallies to three locations outside Colombo, considering the current economic conditions and high costs. Meanwhile, the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna has already decided not to hold a May Day rally, as International Workers’ Day coincides with the Vesak Full Moon Poya Day this year. On the other hand, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya is scheduled to hold its May Day rally at P.D. Sirisena Grounds in Colombo on Vesak Poya Day. For more details, see here. It is within this backdrop that social media posts claiming a joint May Day rally by the United National Party and the Samagi Jana Balawegaya began to circulate.
S. M. Marikkar invites the United National Party to attend the Samagi Jana Balawegaya May Day rally.
Some social media posts claimed that a joint May Day rally would be held by the Samagi Jana Balawegaya and the United National Party, stating that this was announced by MP S. M. Marikkar.
We also examined whether S. M. Marikkar had made such a statement. It was observed that he had stated that a May Day rally would be held in Colombo on May 1 as an alternative platform to express public dissent, and that an invitation had been extended to the United National Party to attend.
He had further mentioned that this could become the first May Day rally where the United National Party and the Samagi Jana Balawegaya would take part together in the following manner.
This statement was widely reported in mainstream media, and related reports can be found here and here.
The social media posts circulating about a joint rally by the United National Party and the Samagi Jana Balawegaya appear to have been created based on this statement. However, neither the Samagi Jana Balawegaya nor the United National Party has issued any official statement confirming that a joint May Day rally will be held.
The United National Party has not yet taken any decision to hold a May Day commemoration either independently or jointly with any other party.
Issuing an official statement, the party confirmed that since International Workers’ Day falls on a full moon Poya day this year, no decision has been made to hold a May Day rally with any political party or organization. The statement further notes that any official announcement regarding such activities will only be published through the UNP’s official Facebook page and its official YouTube channel.
It also clarifies that social media posts circulating under the title “UNP’s position on May Day” using the party’s official logo are completely fake.
United National Party
During our inquiry, the United National Party stated that it has not yet decided whether to hold a May Day rally independently or jointly with any other party. It was further noted that if such a decision is made, it will be announced officially. We also contacted the National People’s Power regarding its May Day celebrations; however, no response has been received so far. This article will be updated once a response is provided.
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Title: Are SJB and UNP Planning a Joint May Day Rally?
Fact Check By: Fact Crescendo Team
Result: Insight
