Rajapakse vows to hold polls despite challenge

COLOMBO, Nov 11 (AFP): Sri Lanka's former strongman leader Mahinda Rajapakse Sunday vowed snap elections would go ahead to "seek a mandate from the people" after the president's sacking of parliament plunged the country deeper into political turmoil.

President Maithripala Sirisena triggered the crisis two weeks ago by sacking prime minister Ranil Wickremesinghe and replacing him with Rajapakse in a power swap his rivals say is illegal.

Sirisena dismissed parliament on Friday and called new polls for January 5, throwing the island into fresh chaos as the United States urged Sri Lanka to respect democratic processes.

Wickremesinghe's party had wanted parliament reconvened to prove he commanded a majority, but Sirisena refused and sacked the legislature instead, escalating a standoff between the rival factions.

Rajapakse, a former president who led Sri Lanka with an iron fist for a decade, said "no one" could stop the polls going ahead.

"The election will go ahead and I am confident we will sweep the election," he told reporters Sunday in his first remarks since the polls were called.