Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa dissolved Parliament with effect from midnight on Tuesday under the powers vested in him under Article 70 (1) of Chapter 11 of the Constitution.<br/><br/>The present Parliament was elected in April 2004 defeating the then UNP regime led by Ranil Wickremesinghe.<br/><br/>The Parliament completes its tenure of six years in April this year. The UPFA came to power after defeating the UNP with 105 seats and the UNP winning 82 seats. The Tamil National Alliance had 22 seats while the Jathika Hela Urumaya had nine seats. That election had a voter turnout of 75 percent.<br/><br/>It is likely that the election will be held on April 8 and the new Parliament will meet on April 22, 2010. The nomination process is expected to take place in the last week of February.<br/><br/>With an unassailable lead of nearly 18 per cent in the election, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) headed by Mr. Rajapaksa and the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) that he leads has a clear edge over the divided and battered opposition.<br/><br/>The gazettes notification says that Parliament election in Sri Lanka is to be held on April 8th and nominations for the elections are to be filed from 19th to 26th February.<br/><br/>The newly constituted Parliament is to meet by 22nd April.<br/><br/>AIR Correspondent reports, after the Presidential election, the people of Sri Lanka will now vote for a new Parliament.<br/><br/>The term of the present Parliament, which came into being in 2004 was schedule to end in April and the new parliament had to be constituted before that.<br/><br/>Political parties have begun making preparations for the election with some prospective candidates pasting their posters on city walls.<br/><br/>The alliance of various opposition groups which had come together on a single platform to support the defeated Presidential candidate Sarath Fonseka , who is now in military custody and may face charges of treason, have already shown signs of breaking up.<br/><br/>With an unassailable lead of nearly 18 per cent in the election, the Sri Lanka Freedom Party (SLFP) headed by Mr. Rajapaksa and the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) that he leads has a clear edge over the divided and battered opposition.<br/><br/>However, it needs to be watched what impact the Fonseka detention would have on the general election.<br/><br/>Meanwhile, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon expressed concern and urged authorities in Sri Lanka to ensure the rights and safety of the defeated presidential candidate and former army chief who was arrested a day earlier, and said he intends to speak to the country’s President Mahinda Rajapaksa to discuss the issue.