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| Version 2 | Version 3 |
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| Sri Lankan parliament dissolved | Sri Lankan parliament dissolved |
| (20 minutes later) | |
| Sri Lanka's recently re-elected President Mahinda Rajapaksa is dissolving parliament, clearing the way for early elections, officials say. | Sri Lanka's recently re-elected President Mahinda Rajapaksa is dissolving parliament, clearing the way for early elections, officials say. |
| Parliament will be dissolved from midnight and the elections commissioner will decide the date of the poll. | Parliament will be dissolved from midnight and the elections commissioner will decide the date of the poll. |
| Mr Rajapaksa won a second term in office by a large margin last month, but the outcome was rejected by his main rival, Gen Sarath Fonseka. | Mr Rajapaksa won a second term in office by a large margin last month, but the outcome was rejected by his main rival, Gen Sarath Fonseka. |
| Gen Fonseka was detained by security forces on Monday. | Gen Fonseka was detained by security forces on Monday. |
| Opposition politicians say the government is engaged in a witch-hunt and have called for protests on Wednesday against the arrest. | Opposition politicians say the government is engaged in a witch-hunt and have called for protests on Wednesday against the arrest. |
| Bitter campaign | Bitter campaign |
| The elections for Sri Lanka's parliament were scheduled to take place by April. Election laws require the poll to be held within eight weeks of dissolution. | |
| Analysts say President Rajapaksa is hoping to capitalise on his presidential election victory in January by sharply increasing the number of seats held in parliament by his Freedom Alliance. | |
| Sarath Fonseka had been planning to take part in the elections | Sarath Fonseka had been planning to take part in the elections |
| Mr Rajapaksa fought the presidential poll on the back of the government's successful military campaign to end the long insurgency by Tamil Tiger rebels in the north and east of the country. | |
| His rival, Gen Fonseka, also claimed credit for ending the civil war last year. | His rival, Gen Fonseka, also claimed credit for ending the civil war last year. |
| They fell out soon after the fighting ended and fought a bitter election campaign. | They fell out soon after the fighting ended and fought a bitter election campaign. |
| Gen Fonseka was arrested at his office on Monday. | Gen Fonseka was arrested at his office on Monday. |
| He was discussing the parliamentary election with supporters at the time. They say the arrest is an attempt to prevent his involvement. | He was discussing the parliamentary election with supporters at the time. They say the arrest is an attempt to prevent his involvement. |
| Although the opposition had rallied around the candidacy of Gen Fonseka, the BBC's Charles Haviland in Colombo says it is not clear whether the dour general could really have continued to bring the opposition together. | |
| Our correspondent says its fractious group of parties was already breaking up and forming new sub-alliances. | |
| Mr Rajapaksa's alliance will be hoping for an absolute, two-thirds majority in parliament to cement his grip on power. | |
| The Sri Lankan defence ministry says Gen Fonseka was arrested for breaking military regulations by holding discussions with politicians while serving on the national security council. | |
| Gen Fonseka's wife Anoma says she has not been allowed to see her husband since the arrest. | Gen Fonseka's wife Anoma says she has not been allowed to see her husband since the arrest. |
| Military spokesman Maj Gen Prasad Samarasinghe said Gen Fonseka was permitted to see family members and had been allowed legal advice. |