COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka's president has dissolved Parliament and called for elections on Jan. 5 in a bid to stave off a deepening crisis over his dismissal of the prime minister that opponents say is unconstitutional.
A notification signed by President Maithripala Sirisena announced the dissolution of Parliament effective midnight Friday.
Sri Lanka has been in a crisis since Sirisena fired Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replaced him with former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa. Both say they command a majority in Parliament and had been expected to face the 225-member house on Wednesday after it was suspended for about 19 days.
Foreign Minister Sarath Amunugama told The Associated Press on Saturday that the reason for the president to dissolve Parliament was the need to go to the people to find a resolution.
