Sri Lanka president dissolves parliament, calls snap poll

Dissanayake picks Amarasuriya as PM, takes finance job

COLOMBO:

Sri Lanka's new leftist president Anura Kumara Dissanayake dissolved parliament on Tuesday and called a snap election for November 14, almost a year ahead of schedule.

Dissanayake ordered the new assembly to hold its first session on November 21, as he dissolved the 225-member parliament in which his People's Liberation Front (JVP) had just three seats, according to a notification in the official government gazette.

Sri Lanka's new president,Anura Kumara Dissanayake, named college professor and first-time lawmaker Harini Amarasuriya as the new prime minister of the Indian Ocean island nation on Tuesday, making her the third woman to be appointed to the post.

Dissanayake, 55, has taken the key finance portfolio himself as Sri Lanka looks to emerge from its most punishing economic crisis in 70 years and its first debt default, while keeping promises to aid the nation's poor.

The Marxist-leaning firebrand politician will also hold the economic development and tourism jobs in the cabinet.

Dissanayake's intentions to slash taxes and desire to revisit the terms of a $2.9 billion International Monetary Fund bailout have worried investors, who fear that it could delay a crucial $25 billion debt restructuring.

His comments during Monday's inauguration offered few clues as to how hardline his economic approach will be. "Our politics needs to be cleaner, and the people have called for a different political culture," the 55-year-old said.

"I am ready to commit to that change." Dissanayake ran in Saturday's presidential election as the candidate for the National People's Power coalition, which includes his Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna party that traditionally championed Marxist economic policies centred on protectionism and state intervention.

Earlier, Sri Lanka's leftist President-elect Anura Kumara Dissanayaka had invited his compatriots to help him "rewrite" history in the cash-strapped island nation after winning a vote coloured by discontent over an unprecedented financial crisis.

Anura Kumara Dissanayaka, the 55-year-old leader of the People's Liberation Front, was declared the winner of the weekend's poll with nearly 1.3 million more votes than his nearest rival.

The once-fringe leader, whose party won less than four percent of the vote in parliamentary elections four years ago, saw a surge of support as the economic meltdown forced widespread hardships upon Sri Lankans.

"The dream we have nurtured for centuries is finally coming true," he said in a statement shortly after the announcement.

"This victory belongs to all of us," he added. "Millions of eyes filled with hope and expectation push us forward, and together, we stand ready to rewrite Sri Lankan history."