Sri Lankan president Gotabaya Rajapaksa tendered his resignation to the speaker on Friday. Sri Lankan news outlets reported that Rajapaksa sent an email to the assembly speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardana.
“Gotabaya has legally resigned. I have accepted the resignation,” Abeywardana told reporters. Gotabaya Rajapaksa fled to Singapore from Maldives after initially staying there for two days after fleeing from Sri Lanka fearing for his safety.
This allows Ranil Wickremesinghe to become the acting president of Sri Lanka until parliament can elect an MP to succeed Rajapaksa for the rest of his term.
Wickremesinghe on Wednesday morning said he was appointed acting president of Sri Lanka but there was no resignation letter with the Sri Lankan authorities. Gotabaya was slated to resign on July 13 but he at that time did not send his resignation letter.
Gotabaya notified the Sri Lanka parliament speaker once he landed in Singapore thus becoming the first Sri Lankan president to resign after it adopted an executive presidency in 1978.
The parliament will convene on July 16. The Sri Lankan assembly speaker said he hopes the process of electing a new president will hopefully be over within a week.
An all-party meeting is currently being held in Colombo.
Vraie Balthaazar, an activist speaking to news agency AFP, said the activists and the Sri Lankan public were happy after hearing the announcement.
However, Sri Lanka’s economic worries continue to grow as the Sri Lankan central bank, the CBSL, said that inflation will cross 100% within August and the nation will not be left with any money to pay for anything.
There are also chances of civil war breaking out over food and fuel.
Rajapaksa’s exit was precipitated by angered Sri Lankans who blame him and his dynasty for leading the country into an economic crisis due to which more than 22 million people face food insecurity, lack of medicine and essential items as well as no access to fuel. Sri Lanka defaulted on its $51-billion foreign debt in April.
Talks are ongoing with the IMF for a possible bailout.
Meanwhile authorities in Sri Lanka said that Gotabaya, former first lady Ioma Rajapaksa and the family members who traveled with him did not seek asylum from the Singapore government.
It was reported that the Rajapaksas may go to the UAE from Singapore.
(with inputs from ANI, AFP and Daily Mirror LK)
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