The President has issued a Gazette Extraordinary proclaiming that the new Parliament will be summoned to meet on August 20, 2020.

The gazette issued by the Secretary to the President P.B. Jayasundera by order of the President, was published last night.

It states that a Proclamation was published in the Gazette Extraordinary No. 2165/8 dated 02nd March, 2020, inter alia dissolving the Parliament with effect from midnight of 02nd March, 2020, and fixing the date for the Election of Members of Parliament to be the 25th day of April, 2020 and fixing the date for the new Parliament to meet to be the 14th day of May, 2020. 

However, consequent to Covid-19 Pandemic, the Election Commission acting in terms of Section 24(3) of the Parliamentary Elections Act, No. 1 of 1981, by Gazette Notification No. 2179/17 dated 10th June, 2020, notified that the Election for electing the Members of Parliament will be held on 05th of August, 2020.

By virtue of the powers vested in him by Article 70(1) of the Constitution of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka to be read with Sub-paragraph (c) of Paragraph (2) of Article 33 of the said Constitution, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, by this Proclamation summons the new Parliament to meet on 20th day of August, 2020.