Columbo:Sri Lanka's president dissolved Parliament ahead of schedule on Monday and set new elections for April in which he aims to secure a strong majority allowing him to push for constitutional changes to increase presidential powers.
The dissolution ordered by President Gotabaya Rajapaksa came six months before the parliamentary term was scheduled to end and his decree said elections will be held on April 25.
Rajapaksa was elected to office last November but has said he cannot work freely because his powers had been reduced. He has also faced restrictions because the opposition commanded a majority in the 225-member Parliament.
The election campaigning period will include the first anniversary of a series of Islamic State-inspired suicide bombings on Easter Sunday last year that killed more than 250 people last year in churches and tourist hotels.
Read:With Rajapaksa's back at helm, past must not shadow India-Lanka ties: Shyam Saran