Sri Lanka's ousted PM Wickremesinghe gears up for polls, plans legal action

The call for a fresh election came after it seemed unlikely Sirisena could prove a majority of lawmakers support his newly appointed prime minister

Sri Lanka’s ousted prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe is ready for polls after President Maithripala Sirisena dissolved the island nation’s parliament and called for a snap general election.

“We are prepared to go for an election, but this is illegal,” said Harsha De Silva, who was state minister of economic affairs under Wickremesinghe’s government. “There will be a massive backing of citizens that believe in democracy and rule of law.”

The party of the deposed prime minister also said it would mount a legal challenge to the president’s move in Sri Lanka’s top court. The 225-seat parliament, which had already been suspended in