Dissolution of Sri Lanka Parliament denounced as undemocratic

Sirisena’s rivals are set to challenge his decision, which they describe as illegal and unconstitutional, in the Supreme Court on Monday.

The US Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs said in a tweet that the United States was “deeply concerned by news the Sri Lanka Parliament will be dissolved, further deepening the political crisis”. It said democracy needed to be respected to ensure stability and prosperity.

Mark Field, the British minister of State for Asia and the Pacific, tweeted his concern about the dissolution of parliament days before it was due to be reconvened.

“As a friend of Sri Lanka, the UK calls on all parties to uphold the constitution and respect democratic institutions and processes,” Field said. Canada’s Foreign Policy twitter feed said that it was “deeply concerned” about the decision and referred to the risks to reconciliation work after the nation’s civil war.

Meanwhile, Sri Lanka’s ousted Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe’s party, the United National Party (UNP), said on Saturday it would file a case in the Supreme Court against the early dissolution of Parliament.

UNP Parliamentarian Mangala Samaraweera told journalists that the party would early next week file a challenge in the Supreme Court, calling the President’s decision to dissolve Parliament “illegal”.

He further set January 17, 2019 as the new date for the new parliament to convene.