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Sri Lanka's newly-elected parliament to convene next week

Colombo, Nov 12 (PTI) Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Tuesday scheduled the inaugural session of the newly elected parliament for next week, following last Thursday's parliamentary election.
     As per tradition, the initial session will focus on electing the Speaker, Deputy Speaker, and the Deputy Chairman of Committees.
     “I, Anura Kumara Dissanayake, President of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, do by this proclamation summon parliament to meet at the chamber of parliament, on the twenty first day of November 2024 at 10.00 am,” a government gazette stated.
     The recent parliamentary election has resulted in a new parliament of 225 members -- 196 representatives elected from 22 electoral districts and an additional 29 selected from a national list based on each party’s overall vote share.
     Dissanayake in September dissolved parliament, almost a year ahead of the scheduled closure in August 2025.
     The National People's Power (NPP) coalition led by Dissanayake is seeking parliamentary support for sweeping social reforms, positioning itself as a break from the governance model that has dominated Sri Lanka since gaining independence from Britain in 1948.
     Dissanayake’s victory in the September presidential election marked a historic achievement for the Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP), the founding party of the NPP, as it became the first electoral win for the party since its establishment in 1965. Known for leading uprisings in 1971 and 1987, the JVP shifted to a democratic platform in 1994 and has since pursued political reform within Sri Lanka's democratic framework, despite multiple electoral challenges.

(This story has not been edited by THE WEEK and is auto-generated from PTI)