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AFP
Opponents of Mr Sirisena say his move is illegal
President Maithripala Sirisena decided to dissolve the Parliament in a context of political crisis following his attempt to replace the Prime Minister of Sri Lanka.
The official notification takes effect from Friday midnight. If passed, this could trigger a general election early next year.
However, it could also be challenged in the Supreme Court.
The dismissed prime minister's party claims that the president does not have the power to take such measures.
Last month, President Sirisena appointed former Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa as Prime Minister after sacking Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and his cabinet and suspending Parliament.
But Mr. Wickremesinghe refused to leave, claiming that his dismissal was illegitimate.
A Wickremesinghe Unified National Party (UNP) MP said the decision to dissolve parliament was "illegal" and said he was convinced of his rejection.
"We are asking the electoral commission to solve this problem peacefully without creating a bloodbath in the country," Ajith Perera told the BBC.
Azzah Ameen, of the BBC Sinhala, said the Sirisena-Rajapaksa camp had called early elections because he had not received enough support in parliament for his new government.
Meanwhile, the UNPP would prefer a parliamentary vote in a national election right now, our correspondent said.
What led to this?
Sirisena, the president, and Wickremesinghe, sacked prime minister, joined forces in the 2015 election to overthrow longtime president, Rajapaksa.
But their troubled coalition has since split and Mr Sirisena announced that he was firing the post of prime minister and replacing him with Mr Rajapaksa.
The two men had recently clashed in a cabinet about the government's plans to rent a port in India.
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EPA
Mr. Wickremesinghe refused to leave office after his dismissal
The dismissal left the country with two people claiming to lead the government. The ousted Prime Minister refused to leave his residence, Temple Trees, claiming that the president's ruling was unconstitutional and calling for the quick convocation of parliament so that a vote could take place.
Meanwhile, Rajapaksa was sworn into a new cabinet and also served as Minister of Finance. Four MPs aligned with Mr Wickremesinghe received ministerial portfolios to gain their support in parliament.
The crisis provoked violence last month when the fired oil minister's bodyguard fired on a crowd of demonstrators outside his office.
Regional rivals are closely watching the events – China congratulated Rajapaksa, while India, the EU and the United States called for the constitution to be respected.
Who is Rajapaksa?
Mahinda Rajapaksa is a popular but controversial figure. As president, he put an end to a decades-long civil war in 2009, but was criticized for his ways to win. Thousands of Tamil civilians were reportedly killed by government forces in the final months of the fighting.
The military has always denied that, but the issue has remained extremely controversial and has been scrutinized.
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Mr. Rajapaksa has been accused of massive corruption and atrocities committed during the country's civil war
Rajapaksa also signed several major infrastructure agreements with China while in that position, imposing billions of dollars of debt on Sri Lanka. The former president and his entourage are also accused of corruption, which they deny.
Many Sri Lankans now worry about the fate of corruption cases against Rajapaksa family members, as well as investigations into the murders of journalists and others under the presidency of Mahinda Rajapaksa in 2005- 2015, correspondents said.
