The Sri Lankan Parliament Speaker stated that the President Gotabaya Rajapaksa He agreed to resign as of next Wednesday.
Mahinda Yapa Abiwardena, in a televised statement, Saturday, said he had informed Rajapaksa of a decision taken at a meeting of parliamentary party leaders asking him to leave his post, and he agreed.
Abiwardena added that Rajapaksa will remain president until Wednesday to ensure a smooth transition of power.
The announcement came hours after protesters stormed the official residence of the president to express their anger at the severe economic crisis in the country.
The demonstrators also stormed the private home of the Prime Minister and set it on fire.
The president has not appeared since the moment he announced his escape from the presidential residence.
The private television station Serasa showed scenes showing a crowd entering the heavily guarded headquarters.
Protesters enjoying Sri Lanka’s absconding President’s swimming pool! No dictator should remain in illusion that the power is for ever, and when the end comes, it is always violent and nasty. pic.twitter.com/T3ePbkA0gM
— Ashok Swain (@ashoswai) July 9, 2022
Sri Lankan Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe agreed to resign after party leaders in Parliament demanded that he step down.
The prime minister’s spokesman, Denok Kulambag, said Wickremesinghe had told party leaders that he would resign when all parties agreed to form a new government.
Although he announced his acceptance of his resignation after the formation of a new government, demonstrators stormed the private residence of the Sri Lankan Prime Minister and set it on fire.
Wickremesinghe’s decision to resign came after Sri Lanka’s biggest protest on Saturday, with tens of thousands of people breaking through barriers and entering President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s residence and nearby office to vent their anger at a leader they see as responsible for the country’s worst economic crisis.
and support Sri Lanka Months of food and fuel shortages, power cuts and accelerating inflation, have run out of foreign currency necessary to import vital goods. Large crowds flocked to the capital to participate in the demonstration, in a new scene of turmoil caused by An unprecedented economic crisis in this state.
(Associated Press, The New Arab)