Upali Samarasinghe

Rathnayake Hettige Upali Samarasinghe (Sinhala: රත්නායක හෙට්ටිගේ උපාලි සමරසිංහ, Tamil: ரத்னாயக்க ஹெட்டிகே உபாலி சமரசிங்க) is a Sri Lankan politician and long-time member of the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP). He was appointed as a National List Member of Parliament in 2024 under the National People's Power (NPP) government.^[1][2]

Hon. Rathnayake Hettige Upali Samarasinghe MP
රත්නායක හෙට්ටිගේ උපාලි සමරසිංහ ரத்னாயக்க ஹெட்டிகே உபாலி சமரசிங்க
National List Member of Parliament
Incumbent
Assumed office 21 November 2024
President	Anura Kumara Dissanayake
Prime Minister	Harini Amarasuriya
Member of Parliament for Vanni Electoral District
Personal details
Nationality	Sri Lankan
Political party	Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna
Other political affiliations	National People's Power

Political career

Samarasinghe has been associated with the JVP for many years, contributing to political and social activism. He contested the 2024 Sri Lankan parliamentary election from the Vanni District but did not secure a seat through preferential votes due to the lower percentage of Sinhala voters compared to Tamil voters in the region.^[3] Despite this, he was selected as a National List MP, emphasizing NPP's commitment to promoting regional representation and inclusion.^{[citation needed]}

Samarasinghe's candidacy marks a historic milestone as he is the first Sinhalese representative from the Northern Province to be nominated from the national list and the only Sinhalese representative from the Northern Province to represent the 17th parliament.^{[citation needed]}

Background

In the 2013 Provincial Council Election, he served as the Authorized Agent for the JVP in the Vavuniya District.^[4]