From October 2003 onwards, however, the UNF government had been in limbo, when president Kumaratunga declared a state of emergency and took three key cabinet portfolios for her party.

The UNF, on the other hand, stressed the economic gains that the country had made as a result of the ceasefire and the need to find a negotiated solution to the civil war.

Eventually, Kumaratunga dissolved the parliament and called another election in 2004, in which the UNF lost to the newly formed United People's Freedom Alliance.

The UNF this time had the support of many parties such as the Jathika Hela Urumaya, the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, and the Tamil National Alliance as a major coalition to support the common opposition candidate Maithripala Sirisena, a former member of the SLFP and minister in Rajapaksa's government before turning against Rajapaksa and formally running as a New Democratic Front candidate.

On 12 July 2015, the UNP, SLMC and TPA signed agreements with the Jathika Hela Urumaya (JHU) and anti-Rajapaksa members of the SLFP to form the United National Front for Good Governance (UNFGG) to contest the parliamentary election.

[24][25] Then-UNFGG general secretary Champika Ranawaka stated that the JHU name and its conch symbol will be revived after the election.

[37][38] Prior to the 2020 parliamentary elections, the working committee of the UNP appointed opposition leader Sajith Premadasa as the leader of the new UNP-led alliance, the Samagi Jana Balawegaya (SJB), and selected Premadasa as the prime ministerial candidate of the SJB.

On 14 February 2020, both Sajith Premadasa and Ranil Wickremesinghe agreed to contest in the elections under the swan symbol and file nominations under the Samagi Jana Balawegaya in an attempt to deescalate the ongoing threat of division within the United National Party.

Approximately 75 members of parliament joined the alliance, while a minority faction of the UNP filed nominations under the elephant symbol.