Sri Lanka's newly elected President Anura Kumara Dissanayake has dissolved parliament to make way for a snap general election in the debt-ridden country, he said in a government gazette notification on Tuesday.

Anura Kumara Dissanayake calls a general election, dissolving the parliament where his party only holds three seats.

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Marxist lawmaker Anura Kumara Dissanayake leads early official results in Sri Lanka’s presidential election, according to tallies released on Sunday by the Election Commission, but he is still short of the 50% needed for victory.