Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena on Friday dissolved Parliament, paving the way for an early general election in the country which is grappling with unprecedented political crisis after the surprise sacking of Ranil Wickremesinghe as Prime Minister and replacing him with Mahinda Rajapaksa.

Sirisena dissolved the Parliament after his United People's Freedom Alliance (UPFA)announced that it did not have the necessary numbers to get Rajapaksa through the legislature.