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COLOMBO (Reuters) – Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena will reconvene parliament on Nov. 5, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa announced on Thursday, as international pressure mounted to resolve a political crisis.
Sirisena on Friday appointed pro-Chinese Prime Minister Rajapaksa as prime minister, after brutally dismissing Ranil Wickremesinghe's government.
Wickremesinghe said his removal was unconstitutional and required that he be allowed to prove his parliamentary majority.
"The president has decided to reconvene Parliament on the 5th," Rajapaksa said at a meeting at the Prime Minister's office.
Sirisena had previously prorogued Parliament until 16 November, but political parties and foreign powers urged that a session earlier resolve the crisis.
(Report of Ranga Sirilal and Shihar Aneez, edited by Sanjeev Miglani)
