Beleaguered President Dissolves Parliament
Sri Lanka’s president dissolved Parliament and ordered new elections after defections from her coalition left her vulnerable to a planned no-confidence vote.
The second elections in 14 months will be held Dec. 5, a government spokesman said.
The announcement came after nine lawmakers quit President Chandrika Kumaratunga’s coalition Wednesday, reducing it to 111 of the 225 seats in Parliament. A Cabinet minister also resigned, the fourth in a month.
The opposition had scheduled a no-confidence vote on Kumaratunga’s People’s Alliance government for Thursday.
The lawmakers left after Kumaratunga forged an alliance with Marxists to preserve a majority.
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