COLOMBO, Nov. 23 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapakse has decided to opt for a presidential election two years ahead of schedule, government sources said Monday.

    Officials from the presidential secretariat said the president had signed the proclamation calling early presidential elections, but refused to release more details.

    Anura Priyadarshana Yapa, minister of Mass Media and Information was quoted by local media as saying that Rajapakse met party leaders Monday morning and told them his intention to go for a presidential election.

    This decision will end months of speculation whether the president would opt for the parliamentary or presidential elections.

    Rajapakse's tenure will end in 2011 but the government wants to hold an early presidential election to capitalize on its victory against Tamil Tiger rebels in May, analysts say.

    Rajapakse's plan to call an early election has been upset by the opposition parties' attempt to field former Army Commander General Sarath Fonseka as the opposition's common presidential candidate.

    Fonseka, who was the Army Commander from December 2005 to July 2009, was equally credited for the government's military success over the rebels.