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 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.

Marxist leader Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka’s president after an election that saw voters reject an old guard accused of leading the country into economic crisis.

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 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.

Marxist leader Anura Kumara Dissanayake was sworn in as Sri Lanka's President on Monday following several years of economic woes.

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 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.

Meet Sri Lanka’s Next President. Anura Kumara Dissanayake’s victory in Sri Lanka’s presidential election on Saturday granted the public’s abiding wish for a fresh politica