Sri Lanka's new president calls a parliamentary election for November to consolidate his mandate

COLOMBO, Sri Lanka (AP) — Sri Lanka’s new President Anura Kumara Dissanayake dissolved Parliament late Tuesday and called for a parliamentary election in less than two months in an effort to consolidate power after his weekend election victory.

A government notification said that Parliament was dissolved effective midnight Tuesday, and that the parliamentary election was set for Nov. 14, in an expected move that Dissanayake had vowed to take during his election campaign.

Dissanayake’s party holds only three seats in the 225-member Parliament and the snap election could help him take control of the chamber while his approval ratings remain intact following his win in Saturday's polling.

The dissolution came hours after Dissanayake swore in a female lawmaker in his coalition as his prime minister, making her the country’s first woman to head the government in 24 years.

Harini Amarasuriya, 54, a university lecturer and activist, comes from a similar background as Dissanayake and both are members of the Marxist-leaning National People’s Power coalition, which remains in the opposition in Parliament.

His victory in Saturday’s election over ex-President Ranil Wickremesinghe and opposition leader Sajith Premadasa came as Sri Lankans rejected the old political guard whom they blamed for pushing the country into an unprecedented economic crisis.

The last woman to serve as prime minister, the second most-powerful position after the president, was Sirimavo Bandaranaike. She was also the world’s first female head of government when she took up the post in 1960, and served three terms until 2000.

Dissanayake's lack of a majority makes it difficult for him to appoint a fully fledged Cabinet, and he had vowed during the campaign to dissolve Parliament and call a snap election. The present Parliament’s five-year term ends next August.

Amarasuriya also assumed duties of four other ministries covering justice, health, women, trade and industries. Another lawmaker from Dissanayake’s party, Vijitha Herath, was appointed minister in charge of six departments including foreign affairs, transport, public security, environment, port and civil aviation.

Dissanayake’s first major challenge will be to act on his campaign promise to ease the crushing austerity measures imposed by his predecessor Wickremesinghe under a relief agreement with the International Monetary Fund, after Sri Lanka defaulted on its debt.

Wickremesinghe has warned that any move to alter the basics of the bailout agreement could delay the release of a fourth tranche of nearly $3 billion.

Sri Lanka’s crisis was largely the result of staggering economic mismanagement combined with fallout from the COVID-19 pandemic, which along with 2019 terrorism attacks devastated its important tourism industry.

Sri Lanka’s politics have mostly been dominated by men since the island nation introduced universal suffrage in 1931. It’s a trend seen in most countries globally — in 2023, a Pew Research Center analysis found only 13 of the 193 member states of the United Nations had women as the head of government.

Bandaranaike’s younger daughter, Chandrika Kumaratunga, later became the country’s first and only female president, holding office from 1994 to 2005.

A man walks outside parliamentary complex in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

FILE -Leader and the presidential candidate of National People's Power Anura Kumara Dissanayake waves to supporters during a public rally in Dehiowita, Sri Lanka, Sept. 17, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena, File)

A woman walks outside the parliamentary complex in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Wednesday, Sept. 25, 2024. (AP Photo/Eranga Jayawardena)

National People's power lawmaker Harini Amarasuriya, 54, signs after taking oath for the post of Sri Lanka's Prime Minister in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (Sri Lanka Government Information Department via AP)

National People's power lawmaker Harini Amarasuriya, 54, left, takes oath for the post of Sri Lanka's Prime Minister in front of President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Monday, Sept. 23, 2024. (Sri Lanka Government Information Department via AP)

NEW YORK (AP) — Kamala Harris “wrote off rural America" during the 2024 presidential campaign and failed to attack Donald Trump with sufficient “negative firepower," according to a long-awaited post-election autopsy released on Thursday by the Democratic National Committee.

The committee's chair, Ken Martin, shared the 192-page report only after facing intense internal pressure from frustrated Democratic operatives concerned with his leadership. Martin had originally promised to release the autopsy, only to keep it under wraps for months because he was concerned it would be a distraction ahead of the midterms as Democrats mobilize to take back control of Congress.

On Tuesday, Martin apologized for his handling of the situation and conceded that the report was withheld because it “was not ready for primetime."

Although the autopsy criticizes Democrats' focus on “identity politics,” it sidesteps some of the most controversial elements of the 2024 campaign. The report does not address former President Joe Biden’s decision to seek reelection, the rushed selection of Harris to replace him on the ticket or the party's acrimonious divide over the war in Gaza.

“I am not proud of this product; it does not meet my standards, and it won’t meet your standards,” Martin wrote in an essay on Substack on Thursday. “I don’t endorse what’s in this report, or what’s left out of it. I could not in good faith put the DNC’s stamp of approval on it. But transparency is paramount.”

A spokesperson for Harris did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The initial reaction from Democratic operatives was a mix of bafflement and anger over Martin's handling of the situation.

“Why not say this in 2024, or bring in more people to finish it, instead of turning this into the dumbest media cycle for 7-8 months?” Democratic strategist Steve Schale wrote on social media.

The postelection report, which was authored by Democratic consultant Paul Rivera, calls for “a renewed focus on the voters of Middle America and the South, who have come to believe they are not included in the Democratic vision of a stronger and more dynamic America for everyone.”

“Millions of Americans are suffering from poor access to healthcare, manufacturing and job losses, and a failing infrastructure, yet continue to be persuaded to vote against their best interests because they do not see themselves reflected in the America of the Democratic Party,” the report says.

The autopsy points to a reduction in support and training for Democratic state parties, voter registration shifts and “a persistent inability or unwillingness to listen to all voters.”

Thursday's release comes as Martin confronts a crisis of confidence among party officials who are increasingly concerned about the health of their political machine barely a year into his term. Some Democratic operatives have had informal discussions about recruiting a new chair, even though most believe that Martin’s job wasn't in serious jeopardy ahead of the midterm elections.

The report found that Harris and her allies failed to focus enough on Trump's negatives, especially his felony convictions. This was part of a broader criticism that Democrats' messaging is too focused on reason and winning arguments, “even in cycles when the electorate is defined by rage.”

“There was a decision in the 2024 Democratic leadership not to engage in negative advertising at the scale required,” the report states. “The Trump campaign and supportive Super PACs went full throttle against Vice President Harris, but there was not sufficient or similar negative firepower directed at Trump by Democrats.”

The report continues: “It was essential to prosecute a more effective case as to why Trump should have been disqualified from ever again taking office. The grounds were there, but the messaging did not make the case.”

Trump's attack on Harris' transgender policies were cited as a key contrast.

Specifically, the report suggested the Democratic nominee was “boxed” in by the Trump campaign's “very effective” ad that highlighted Harris' previous statement of support for taxpayer-funded gender-affirming surgeries for prison inmates.

Democratic pollsters believed that “if the Vice President would not change her position – and she did not – then there was nothing which would have worked as a response," the report said.

The report criticized Harris' outreach to key segments of America while condemning the party's focus on “identity politics.”

“Harris wrote off rural America, assuming urban/suburban margins would compensate. The math doesn’t work,” the report says. “You can’t lose rural areas by overwhelming margins and make it up elsewhere when rural voters are a significant share of the electorate. If Democrats are to reclaim leadership in the Heartland or the South, candidates must perform well in rural turf. Show up, listen, and then do it again.”

The report also references Democrats' underperformance with male voters of color.

“Male voters require direct engagement. The gender gap can be narrowed. Deploy male messengers, address economic concerns, and don’t assume identity politics will hold male voters of color,” it says.

President Donald Trump speaks during an event about loosening a federal refrigerant rule, in the Oval Office at the White House, Thursday, May 21, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

Former Vice President Kamala Harris speaks during a fireside chat on Thursday, May 7, 2026, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ty ONeil)

FILE - Democratic National Committee chair Ken Martin speaks during an interview with The Associated Press at DNC headquarters, Jan. 12, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Allison Robbert, File)