Sri Lanka's president Maithripala Sirisena today issued a gazette notification dissolving parliament and sacking all 225 lawmakers.
The gazette notification, released this evening, states elections will be held on January 5, 2019, almost two years ahead of schedule.
Unconfirmed reports suggest however the country's election commissioner has rejected the prospect of a new election, stating it would have be decided by the Supreme Court.
Colombo responds
Responding to news of parliament's dissolution, the former defence secretary, Gotabhaya Rajapaksa welcomed the prospect of elections.
"It is the people that decide on the fate of a nation. The genuine power of the people should deliver a stable and progressive future at this critical junction of our nation. I am confident that the people of Sri Lanka will make the right choice #lka #elections #Hope4SL" he tweeted.
The UNP condemned the move however, calling the dissolution "illegal".
"We vehemently reject the President's dissolution of Parliament. He has robbed the people of their rights and the Democracy that we have enjoyed. This dissolution by the President is illegal and goes against the constitution. We will be fighting this to ensure that Democracy reigns supreme in the country," the party's official twitter account posted this evening.
Responding to rumours of Sirisena's move earlier today, the JVP expressed its opposition.
“It is dangerous if someone goes for an election after obtaining power through unconstitutional means. If an election was announced under this unconstitutional government, it will be clearly construed as a part of this political coup," the JVP General Secretary Tilvin Silva said.
Wrangling for power
Sri Lanka plunged into political crisis last month after Sirisena sacked the prime minister, Ranil Wickremesinghe and appointed the former war crimes accused president, Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place, before proroguing parliament.
Today's events follow days of wrangling between the two main Sri Lankan parties, UPFA and UNP as to who commands a majority amid reports of bribes being offered to MPs to entice them to jump ship.
In his first statement since he was appointed as premier, Rajapaksa called for early elections.
“The primary objective of the political party leaders and parliamentarians who have joined me is to immediately hold the Provincial Councils elections that had been postponed continuously, and also to call a Parliamentary election as soon as possible so as to give the people the opportunity to vote for a program that will bring the country out of the all-encompassing economic, political and social crisis that it is now in."
Responding to the dissolution, Rajapaksa tweeted:
"As leaders, it is our responsibility and obligation to give the people the opportunity to voice their opinions on the future of [Sri Lanka]. A general election will truly establish the will of the people and make way for a stable country."
Despite international calls for parliament to reconvene Sirisena has remained defiant, telling a rally of over 120,000 supporters this week that he would not bow to international pressure.
"Even if there are threats, pressure and forces, I will only move forward and will not take a step back," Sirisena vowed.
“I ousted a vision that is incompatible with our local culture and values, and that works according to foreign agendas.""For the past 3 ½ years, poor people were suppressed by Ranil Wickremesinghe's economic and political vision. Local thoughts were rejected and an extreme neo-liberal form of governance was carried out."
