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

The main reason for worrying about Mr Dissanayake is not that he is a zealot. It is that he has little experience in government, barring a brief stint as agriculture minister two decades ago. Somehow, he must continue with painful reforms to keep the economy stable without alienating the people who elected him. It is an almost impossible task.

Sri Lanka’s new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake said he plans to start discussions with the International Monetary Fund as part of his focus on establishing stability in the island nation before rolling out other initiatives.

Sri Lanka will hold a parliamentary election on Nov. 14, the government announced on Tuesday, less than two months after the Indian Ocean island nation elected Anura Kumara Dissanayake as its new president.

Ms Amarasuriya, 54, is the first woman in more than two decades and the only third woman in the history of independent Sri Lanka to take charge as the prime minister. She is a sociology lecturer and known for her activism on gender and minority rights.

Sri Lanka’s new president Anura Kumara Dissanayake dissolved the nation’s parliament with effect midnight Tuesday and called for early elections, framing his decision as steps toward combating corruption and renegotiating a $3 billion bailout from the International Monetary Fund.

Sri Lanka's new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said on Wednesday that he plans to begin negotiations with the International Monetary Fund (IMF) immediately to take forward the country's $2.9 billion bailout programme.