INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Image copyrightAFPImage caption
Mr Sirisena's opponents say his move is illegal
President Maithripala
Sirisena has moved to dissolve parliament amid a political crisis following his attempt to replace Sri Lanka's prime minister.The official
notification, which took effect at midnight on Friday (17:30 GMT), would trigger a general election on 5 January.However, it could be
challenged in the Supreme Court.The sacked prime minister's party says the president does not have the power to take such action.Last month,
President Sirisena named former strongman leader Mahinda Rajapaksa as the new prime minister after sacking Prime Minister Ranil
Wickremesinghe and his cabinet and suspending parliament.But Mr Wickremesinghe has refused to leave, saying his sacking was illegitimate.An
MP from Mr Wickremesinghe's United National Party (UNP) said the move to dissolve parliament was "illegal" and said he believed it would be
rejected."We are requesting the election commission to solve this issue peacefully without creating a bloodbath in the country," Ajith
Perera told the TheIndianSubcontinent.TheIndianSubcontinent Sinhala's Azzam Ameen says the Sirisena-Rajapaksa camp are calling a snap
election because they did not have enough support in parliament for their new government
The UNP meanwhile would prefer a parliamentary vote to a national election at this time, our correspondent says.What has led to thisMr
Sirisena, the president, and Mr Wickremesinghe, the sacked prime minister, joined forces in the 2015 election to defeat the then long-time
president, Mr Rajapaksa.But their uneasy coalition has since fractured and Mr Sirisena announced he was sacking the PM and replacing him
The pair had reportedly clashed in cabinet recently over government plans to lease a port to India.Image copyrightEPAImage caption
Mr Wickremesinghe has refused to leave office after his sacking
The sacking left the country with two people
claiming to run the government
The ousted PM has refused to leave his residence, Temple Trees, arguing that the president's move is unconstitutional and calling for
parliament to be convened quickly so a vote can take place
Meanwhile, Mr Rajapaksa has sworn in a new cabinet and has also taken the post of finance minister
Four MPs aligned with Mr Wickremesinghe were given ministerial portfolios in a bid to win their support in parliament.The crisis led to
violence last month, when the bodyguard of the sacked oil minister fired at a crowd of protesters outside his office.Regional rivals are
watching events closely - China has congratulated Mr Rajapaksa, while India, the EU and US have called for the constitution to be
respected.Who is RajapaksaMahinda Rajapaksa is a popular but controversial figure
As president, he ended the decades-long civil war in 2009, but faced criticism for the means by which he achieved victory - many thousands
of Tamil civilians are thought to have been killed by government forces in the final months of the fighting.The military has always denied
this, but it has remained a bitterly contentious issue and been the subject of intense scrutiny
Image copyrightGetty ImagesImage caption
Mr Rajapaksa has been accused of massive corruption and atrocities during the
country's civil war
Mr Rajapaksa also signed several large infrastructural deals with China when he was in office - saddling
Sri Lanka with billions of dollars in debt
The former president and his inner circle are also accused of corruption, which they deny.Many in Sri Lanka are now worried about the fate
of corruption cases targeting members of the Rajapaksa family, along with investigations into the murders of journalists and others under
Mahinda Rajapaksa's 2005-2015 presidency, correspondents say.
