Sri Lanka President dissolves Parliament

Nov 09, 2018 (LBO) – Sri Lanka's President Maithripala Sirisena has signed the proclamation to dissolve the Parliament from Friday midnight.





According to the relevant Gazette, the fifth day of January 2019 has been fixed as the date for the election of the Members of Parliament. The leader of Pivithuru Hela Urumaya Udaya Gammanpila earlier in the day said the President can exercise power vested with him under article 33 (2) c of the constitution to dissolve the Parliament.

There is a strong debate, however, about the constitutionality of isolating article 33 (2) c to dissolve the Parliament since there is a 4.

5-year protection given by article 70 (1) of the constitution. For the past few days, there was speculation that the President will dissolve the Parliament after completing appointments to the cabinet.

Newly completed cabinet led by Prime Minister will now serve as a caretaker government until the general election. Meanwhile, the United States and other western nations are repeatedly requesting the President to reverse course and let the Parliament perform its constitutional duties.

(Updated) 2096-70_E

Sri Lanka's political crisis continues to devolve into chaos. As Co-Chair of the Sri Lanka Caucus, I joined @RepEliotEngel and @RepDavidEPrice in urging @MaithripalaS to reverse course and let Parliament perform its constitutional duties. pic.twitter.com/JAcIUHGAA1

— Dina Titus (@repdinatitus) November 9, 2018

Let true democracy prevail by giving the people the mandate to decide #SriLanka’s future. President @MaithripalaS did the right thing by dissolving Parliament and calling for a general election. Let the peoples’ voices be heard. That’s what everyone wants.

— Namal Rajapaksa (@RajapaksaNamal) November 9, 2018