Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is currently in Singapore, emailed his resignation letter on Thursday night, triggering celebrations among protesters in Colombo.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, who is currently in Singapore, emailed his resignation letter on Thursday night, triggering celebrations among protesters in Colombo.
Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has officially resigned, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abbewardene announced Friday morning, ending days of uncertainty as the widely despised leader was displaced from the island by monumental public protests over a dire economic crisis. had fled.
Mr Gotabaya, currently in Singapore, sent his resignation letter by email on Thursday, but the chairman’s office said its authenticity and legality had to be verified before it could be accepted. Thousands of protesters stormed the president’s office and home last weekend, forcing the president to flee, first to the Maldives and later to Singapore.
Public anger against Mr Gotabaya and his family members, who held key positions in the government, escalated this year as citizens suffocated amid severe shortages and rising living costs, he said, his government failing to address. doing.
New President to be elected through Parliament
Mr Gotabaya’s resignation makes way for a new president to be elected through parliament. Meanwhile, Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe was appointed as the acting President.
There is likely to be a three-way contest between Mr Wickremesinghe, Rajapaksa’s former loyalist Dullas Alhapparuma and Leader of the Opposition for the presidency Sajith Premadasa. Parliament must convene within three days of the president’s resignation, determine the nomination, and subsequently elect a new president through secret ballot.
Sri Lanka’s political opposition had previously criticized the delay in the president’s resignation. Rauf Hakim, the opposition MP and leader of the Sri Lanka Muslim Congress, said: “Someone who came to power on the platform of national security has fled the country for his own safety, fearing his own people. Had he had the foresight to step down at the right time, this fate would not have happened to him. He has defamed himself and defamed the entire country.”
Furthermore, he said it was “disturbing” that Mr Gotabaya handed over the reins to “another person despised by the people”, referring to Mr Wickremesinghe. “He is oblivious to the ground reality… He too will be infamous in the near future.”
Colombo MLA and Tamil Progressive Alliance leader Mano Ganesan said the Speaker should “immediately act” on the President’s letter and initiate the constitutional process to elect a new President.