COLOMBO: Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa on Monday dissolved parliament late and the election commission slated a general election for April 25.
Rajapaksa – a former defense secretary – won the presidency last November and named his elder brother Mahinda Rajapaksa as interim prime minister.
The election could help the Rajapaksas, known for the brutal defeat of separatist Tamil rebels, to strengthen their hold over the island of 22 million people.
The president reserves the right to dissolve parliament any time after it completes four-and-a-half years of its five-year term – which it did on Monday.
The election commission in a statement said the new parliament will meet on May 14.
(With inputs from Agencies)
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