COLOMBO, Oct 10: Sri Lanka President Chandrika Kumaratunga on Wednesday dismissed the one-year-old legislature to avoid a crushing defeat of her Marxist-backed minority government, ministers said.

Kumaratunga in a gazette notification ordered the dismissal of the 225-member assembly which earlier in the day saw dramatic defections to the opposition, leaving the government fighting for its life.

She must now call new elections within the next three months with market reaction reflecting a belief that her government has only a slim chance of returning to power.

“An overwhelming number of government MPs felt that the President must dissolve parliament and go for early elections,” Justice Minister Batty Weerakoon told AFP.

Opposition leader Ranil Wickremesinghe condemned the dissolution of parliament and said it had prevented the opposition from proving its majority on the floor of the House.

The President’s move scuttled opposition plans to overthrow her minority government at a no-confidence vote in parliament Thursday.—AFP