Sri Lanka’s President Dissanayake Dissolves Parliament and Calls for Snap Elections

Sri Lanka’s newly elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake took decisive action late Tuesday by dissolving Parliament and calling for a parliamentary election in under two months. This move aims to strengthen his grip on power following his electoral victory over the weekend.

According to an official government announcement, Parliament was dissolved at midnight Tuesday, and elections are scheduled for November 14. This anticipated decision aligns with Dissanayake’s campaign promises.

Currently, his party holds just three seats in the 225-member Parliament, and the upcoming snap election could enable him to gain greater control while his approval ratings are still high following his win on Saturday.

The dissolution came shortly after Dissanayake appointed Harini Amarasuriya as his prime minister, marking her as the first woman to hold the position in 24 years. Amarasuriya, 54, is a university lecturer and activist who shares a similar political background with Dissanayake, both being members of the Marxist-leaning National People’s Power coalition, which remains in opposition in Parliament.

Dissanayake’s election victory signifies a rejection of the former political leadership, particularly ex-President Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa, as Sri Lankans voiced their discontent over the economic crisis the country has faced.

The last woman to serve as prime minister was Sirimavo Bandaranaike, who became the world’s first female head of government in 1960 and held the position three times until 2000.

With Dissanayake lacking a parliamentary majority, forming a comprehensive Cabinet is challenging. He had committed during his campaign to dissolve Parliament and call for early elections, as the current Parliament’s five-year term is set to end next August.

Amarasuriya also took on responsibilities for four additional ministries, including justice, health, women’s affairs, and trade. Another member of Dissanayake’s party, Vijitha Herath, was appointed to oversee six departments, including foreign affairs and public security.

One of Dissanayake’s immediate challenges will be to fulfill his campaign promise to alleviate the severe austerity measures that were imposed by his predecessor, Wickremesinghe, under an agreement with the International Monetary Fund after Sri Lanka defaulted on its debt.

Wickremesinghe cautioned that altering the fundamental aspects of the bailout agreement could postpone the release of a nearly $3 billion fourth tranche of aid.

The ongoing crisis in Sri Lanka stems largely from severe economic mismanagement compounded by the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic, which, along with the 2019 terrorist attacks, severely affected the crucial tourism sector.

Historically, Sri Lankan politics have been predominantly male-dominated since universal suffrage was introduced in 1931. This trend is echoed globally; a 2023 Pew Research Center analysis indicated that only 13 out of 193 UN member states have women serving as heads of government.

Chandrika Kumaratunga, Bandaranaike’s younger daughter, later became Sri Lanka’s first and only female president, serving from 1994 to 2005.

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