Elections likely in the last week of April

By Jamila Husain  

President Gotabaya Rajapaksa may dissolve Parliament by the end of February or early March and call for general elections in the last week of April, a government source told Daily Mirror yesterday. 

The President’s decision came after a meeting he held with Election Commissioner Mahinda Deshapriya, who had informed the President that the general elections could be held either in the last week of April or early May.  

Cabinet spokesman Ramesh Pathirana said the President was likely to dissolve Parliament by the last week of February and call for a general election at the end of April.   According to the 19th amendment to the constitution, President Rajapaksa can only dissolve Parliament after the House completes four and a half years of its term unless a resolution is passed with a two-third majority calling for an early dissolution. The SLPP currently lacks such a majority in the House.