Dissolving Parliament

Newly re-elected President Mahinda Rajapaksa will dissolve Sri Lanka’s parliament and call a legislative election in a move to reshape the unwieldy coalition he now heads. “Rajapaksa won a thumping victory on Tuesday over his former army commander, General Sarath Fonseka, in the Indian Ocean island’s first nationwide election since the defeat of the separatist Tamil Tigers. ‘(The) President is to dissolve parliament and go for a general election soon,’ presidential spokesman Lucien Rajakarunanayake said. He declined to say precisely when the president would dissolve the legislature. The present parliament’s term is due to expire in April. Disproving forecasts Rajapaksa and the former general would race to a photo finish, the veteran politician won 57.8 percent of 10.4 million votes cast against 40.2 for Fonseka. The general has cried foul over what he said were vote rigging and an attempt to arrest him after army soldiers surrounded the luxury hotel where he was staying in the capital Colombo.”