Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette
Call for democracy in Sri Lanka
Sri Lankans take part Sunday in a candlelight vigil in Colombo. The crowd demanded the restoration of democracy after President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved the Parliament on Sunday and called for new elections.
COLOMBO, Sri Lanka — Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said Sunday that he decided to dissolve Parliament and call fresh elections to avoid violence that could have occurred if a vote were taken to decide on who commands the majority support to become prime minister.
Sirisena in his televised address to the nation said he heard stories from lawmakers on both sides of possible violence in Parliament that could result in deaths and clashes spreading around the country.
“It appeared to me that, if I allowed the Parliament to be convened on the 14th, without dissolving it, it could have brought about commotion and fights in every city and every village [that] would lead to very unpleasant and difficult situation for the average citizens of my beloved country,” he said.
Sirisena sacked Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister on Oct. 26, and appointed former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place.
Originally, Sirisena also suspended Parliament until Nov. 9. Amid mounting local and international pressure, he announced that he would reconvene parliament Wednesday and Speaker Karu Jayasuriya said he was going to call for a vote on that day to seee whether Rajapaksa commanded enough support.
Sirisena dissolved Parliament after his attempts to secure the backing of 113 members in the 225-member Parliament failed. He has called for elections on Jan. 5.