With effect from midnight on yesterday (24), President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has signed the Extraordinary Gazette announcement dissolving the Sri Lankan Parliament.
The President’s Media Division (PMD) reports that the Government Printer has received the pertinent Gazette notification and will publish it.
The Department of Government Printing has received the Gazette notification regarding the dissolution of Parliament, as confirmed by the Government Printer.
“The new president of Sri Lanka dissolves the parliament.”
In accordance with Section 10 of the Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 1 of 1981, and in exercise of the authority granted to him by Article 70 of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, the President has issued the Gazette.The proclamation calls for the new Parliament to convene on November 21, 2024, and dissolves the current Parliament with effect from midnight on yesterday.
Additionally, it sets November 14, 2024, as the date for the election of new MPs.
The notice published in the Gazette further details the nomination period, which runs from October 4 to October 11, 2024, at 12 noon, during which time nomination papers must be received by the Returning Officers.
Dissanayake, the head of the alliance between the People’s Liberation Front (JVP) and the National People’s Power (NPP), defeated 38 rivals and received nearly 5.6 million votes, or 42.3%, of the total cast during the course of the weekend.
Dissanayake promised throughout the election campaign to call for early elections and dissolve the Parliament if he won. The five-year term of the current Parliament expires in August of next year.
In the 225-member parliament of Sri Lanka, his party had just three lawmakers.
Dissanayake took office on Monday and on Tuesday nominated Harini Amarasuriya, a first-time lawmaker and professor, as the new prime minister, making her the third woman to hold the position.He also named a three-member Cabinet that day, consisting of himself, Vijitha Herath of the NPP, and Amarasuriya. This will function as a caretaker government until the elections.
Meanwhile, the Department of Government Information reports that President Dissanayake will address the nation today, September 25, at 7.30 p.m., and make a special remark.
