Sri Lankan president dissolves parliament

COLOMBO — Sri Lanka's newly elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has dissolved parliament to clear the way for a snap general election, he said in a government gazette notification on Tuesday.

The parliamentary election will be held on Nov 14 and the next parliament is set to convene on Nov 21, the notification said.

The last general election in Sri Lanka was held in August 2020. Lawmakers are elected for a five-year term.

Sri Lankans chose Dissanayake in a weekend presidential election, giving the left-leaning politician a key role in deciding the future of reforms in the island country that is slowly emerging from a crushing financial crisis.

But his National People's Power coalition has just three out of 225 seats in the parliament, prompting him to dissolve the legislature to seek a fresh mandate for his policies.

Earlier on Tuesday, his office announced the appointment of lawmaker Harini Amarasuriya, 54, as premier with the additional portfolios of justice, education, health, women's affairs and labor.

A fellow party MP, Vijitha Herath, was made the new foreign minister with additional responsibilities over public security. Dissanayake retained the defense, energy and agriculture portfolios.

Saturday's presidential vote was Sri Lanka's first election since its economy buckled in 2022 under a severe foreign exchange shortage, leaving it unable to pay for imports of essentials, including fuel and medicine.

Agencies - Xinhua