Parliament dissolved, election on 5 December

[TamilNet, Wednesday, 10 October 2001, 19:10 GMT]
The Sri Lankan President dismissed the Parliament Wednesday midnight by a special gazette notification. Fresh elections to the legislature have been fixed for 5 December. Nominations for the general elections would called from 20 October to 27 October, senior government officials said.

The President decided to dissolve the Parliament to pre-empt an ignominious defeat tomorrow.

Last minute talks by the government to woo the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress failed, sources said.