Sri Lanka’s President Anura Kumara Diss­anayake dissolved parliament on Tuesday to clear the way for a snap general election in the debt-ridden country, he said in a government gazette notification.

The parliamentary election will be held on Nov 14, the notification said, adding that the next parliament would convene on Nov 21.

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

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

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But his coalition, the National Peoples Party, has just three of 225 seats in the current parliament, prompting him to dissolve the legislature to seek a fresh mandate there for his policies.

Published in Dawn, September 25th, 2024