Sri Lanka's Newly Elected President Dissolves Parliament, Calls For Snap Polls

After securing the vote in Saturday's elections, Dissanayake dissolved the 225-member parliament. The left-leaning National People's Power only have three seats in the parliament.

With this new vote, Dissanayake's party aims to work towards securing more seats in the parliament. The snap polls will be held on November 14, 2024, as per an official government gazette, which is a year ahead of schedule.

The dissolution of the Sri Lankan parliament comes as part of Dissanyake's poll promises. The Marxist leader had signalled that he would dissolve the parliament soon after being elected as President in order to pursue his policies.

As per Dissanayake, there is "no point continuing with a parliament that is not in line with what the people want".

The last general elections were held in 2020, two years before Sri Lanka plunged into a deep political crisis. Once elected, the MPs serve for a five-year period.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake won the presidential election held on September 21, making him Sri Lanka's first ever left-leaning, Marxist leader.

After taking over as the president, Dissanayake selected Harini Amarasuriya as the prime minister, making her the first female prime minister in over two decades.