Sri Lanka president dissolves parliament amidst political crisis

Colombo: Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Friday dissolved parliament, paving the way for an early general election in the country which is grappling with unprecedented political crisis after the surprise sacking of Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister and replacing him with Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Sirisena dissolved Sri Lanka's parliament hours after a close aide of the President said he decided that there will be no snap elections or a national referendum to end the current political and constitutional crises in Sri Lanka.

Sirisena signed an official notification dismissing the 225-member assembly well ahead of its August 2020 term expiry, state television reported.

The island nation was plunged into a political crisis after Sirisena sacked Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with his former rival Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Wickremesinghe, however, claims he is still the legally appointed prime minister. His request for a floor test to prove his majority in the House has been turned down.

Parliament Speaker Karu Jayasuriya on Monday slammed Sirisena's "unconstitutional and undemocratic" actions to sack Prime Minister Wickremesinghe and suspend Parliament, saying he will not recognise Rajapaksa as the new premier unless he wins a floor test.

The assembly speaker wants the floor test to take place on November 14.