Sri Lankan president lacks numbers, dissolves house

Colombo - Sirisena signed an official notification dismissing the 225-member assembly with effect from midnight.

President Maithripala Sirisena sacked Sri Lanka's parliament on Friday hours after his party announced he did not have a majority to get his prime minister nominee through the legislature, a minister said.
Sirisena signed an official notification dismissing the 225-member assembly with effect from midnight, clearing the way for a snap election nearly two years ahead of schedule, the minister said asking not to be named.
"The election is likely to be held in early January," the minister said after the United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA) said they were eight legislators short of a majority in the 225-member assembly that remains suspended.
The dissolution comes after an intense power struggle in the past two weeks. That followed Sirisena's sudden sacking of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and the appointment of former leader Mahinda Rajapaksa in his place.