the left-wing S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike as Prime Minister defeating Sir John Kotalawela in the 1956 general elections. Bandaranaike was pressured to remove Goonetilleke, and reduce the pay of the Governor-General by members of his left-wing coalition. 1958 communal riots On 24 May 1958 Communal riots erupted, Prime Minister Bandaranaike did not make a formal response. With violence spreading throughout the island, Goonetilleke declared a state of emergency on 27 May 1958 and deployed the armed forces to quell the rioting, while Bandaranaike allowed Goonetilleke to take control of the situation and issue orders to the armed forces to suppress the rioting with force. Goonetilleke authorized the armed forces to shoot rioters, and the armed forces restored order in a few days. Bandaranaike assassination Goonetilleke once again was forced to take decisive action, on 25 September 1959 when Prime Minister Bandaranaike was shot at his home at Rosmead Place while meeting the public. Goonetilleke was at Queens House accepting letters of credence of the Italian Ambassador Count Paolo di Michelis di Sloughhello, when he was informed about the assassination attempt he stopped the ceremony and rushed to Rosmead Place. He informed parliament to continue and at 11 AM declared a state of emergency, bringing the military to full readiness and mobilizing reservists. Bandaranaike, who was rushed to hospital and into emergency surgery, died twenty-two hours after he was shot. Bandaranaike had been scheduled to go to New York to attend the UN General Assembly in late September 1959. The Leader of the House C. P. de Silva was in London undergoing treatment and Bandaranaike had sent a letter to the Governor General recommending that he appoint Wijeyananda Dahanayake, Minister of Education as acting Prime Minister during his absence. With this letter present, Goonetilleke appointed Dahanayake as Prime Minister on September 26, 1959, and was later confirmed by Parliament. Political turmoil Following the assassination of Bandaranaike, the country faced a period of political instability. The Premiership of Dahanayake lasted only one year, and during that time many changes to his cabinet took place. Fresh elections were called, but the elections in March 1960 were indecisive in their outcome, as Dudley Senanayake formed a government for a brief period. Goonetilleke had a difficult decision when faced with the classic difficulty for a Governor-General, whether to dissolve Parliament, causing a new election, or call on a different faction to form a government