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Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena said on Sunday that he had decided to dissolve parliament and call new elections to avoid possible violence in parliament, in case a vote would have place to decide who would have the support of the majority to become prime minister.
Sirisena, in his televised speech to the nation, said he heard stories from lawmakers on both sides of a possible violence in parliament that could even lead to death and clashes spread across the country.
"It seemed to me that if I allowed the convocation of the Parliament on the 14th, without dissolving it, it could have provoked troubles and disputes in every town and village would create a very unpleasant and difficult situation for the citizens my beloved country" , did he declare.
"As such, the best solution was to not allow these 225 members of Parliament to fight and allow this to turn into street fighting in all parts of the country." It's my duty and responsibility The situation for the 15 million voters in this country makes the ultimate decision by choosing their members in parliament through free and fair elections.
The crisis began on October 26 when Sirisena dismissed Ranil Wickremesinghe as prime minister and appointed former strongman Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place.
Wickremesinghe stated that his dismissal was unconstitutional because he still had a majority in Parliament and was still in the official residence.
Sirisena also suspended Parliament initially until 16 November, pushing back the possibility of testing the majority.
In the face of growing local and international pressure, he announced that he would resume his work in Parliament on November 14. President Karu Jayasuriya announced that he would convene a vote that day to determine whether Rajapaksa would receive sufficient support.
Sirisena dissolved Parliament after the failure of its attempts to win the support of 113 members out of the 225 in Parliament. He called for elections on January 5th.
Sirisena and Wickremesinghe, who were at the head of traditionally opposed parties, were part of a clumsy coalition government until the dismissal of Wickremesinghe on October 26.
Also Sunday, Rajapaksa left his long-standing political party and joined another, which could weaken Sirisena.
Rajapaksa joined the Sri Lankan Popular Front, a party of which he was the ghost leader for months. His decision could weaken Sirisena's Sri Lankan Freedom Party, of which Rajapaksa was a long-time member. A large number of SLFP members are likely to join Rajapaksa because he is one of his biggest supporters.
However, Rajapaksa and Sirisena said they would face the January 5 elections.
